Dark Castle
by RayJay
Summary: Deep in a forest, there lies a dark castle whose Lord is a dark, cursed man. Kagome, a young woman off to see her mother, ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time... A rendition of Beauty and The Beast with MY kind of twist to it.
1. Prologue

**_Dark Castle  
_**  
_By: RayJay_  
  
_A rendition of Beauty and the Beast, except milder (than my last version which was entitled 'Change') with limes and an Inu/Kag pairing. It's a slightly changed version but hey, there are hundreds of versions out there and each has the same theme running through it. Read and Review please! Enjoy!_

_(Plus, if you couldn't tell, I'm like a HUGE BandB fan! I LOVE THAT MOVIE! And I love the original folk story too)  
_

. . .

**_Prologue:_**  
  
The howling of wolves pierced the cold night air as a girl crouched over a bit to stifle the massive gust of wind that came unexpectedly from deeper in the woods. She pulled her kimono closer around herself and wiped away the moisture that had leaked from her eyes from having direct contact moments ago with such cool air. Her teeth chattered from fear and from the frigid weather but she pressed on.  
  
_The only way I'll get out of here is if I find my way,_ Kagome thought to herself, falling back a step when the wind suddenly changed coarse and started to blow at her left side. She nibbled her lower lip between her teeth but continued on cautiously, trying to ignore her hair that was flying wildly in all directions. _Oh Kami-sama... How could I have gotten so lost?_ She berated herself mentally as the blackness of the forest stretched out more so around her as she made her way through the icy weather. 

. . .  
  
"What is it?" A rich voice asked when the master of the castle suddenly tensed as he stood in the doorway. The vassal stood next to his lord, the cold vibrant air beating against his frail human skin causing him to shiver a bit but the prince beside him seemed unaffected.  
  
"Someone is here..." Came the curt and annoyed reply. At that, the young man was gone in a flash of silver into the woods.

. . .   
  
_Perhaps I need to back track,_ Kagome thought sensibly as she pulled up her hood for the third time, only to have it flip back in the rushing wind. _I entered the forest, she started, thinking back to it. I was to turn left at a certain tree and-_ By the gods! That was it! The easiest of maneuvers and it had passed right over her head! Kagome felt anger well up in her small chest and clenched her shaking hands into frozen fists. _Wonderful! I am now MILES lost in this scary forest and I have absolutely no idea where I am! I hope mother doesn't become worried..._ she finished, letting out a defeated sigh.  
  
Looking about herself, eyes watering from the horrible breeze, she realized that there was nowhere left to go besides deeper into the forest, and eventually, SOMEHOW finding an exit. This was a very feasible plan... until she heard the rustling of leaves above her in the trees.  
  
Kagome's gaze flicked upward towards the source of the noise, her raven locks carelessly streaming all about her shivering form as she carefully scanned the area. _False alarm?_ The girl thought hopefully, wincing at the thick, bitter taste that had now settled in her mouth. _Kami-sama! Am I that afraid?  
_  
A gasp escaped her lips quickly when she felt the warmth of a very large hand on her throat, pulling her backwards, gently at first. She wanted to relax into the heat that she had been pressed against but found herself falling slowly, ever so slowly... She nearly hit the ground, her world fading into blackness but someone caught her... Someone who was trying to take her away it seemed... She did not see person, nor did she feel any safer than she did moments ago... She did however hear her captor say one word before she became unconscious.  
  
_"####!"_

_. . .  
_  
The smell of burning wood and of faint perfume clouded around Kagome, as she lay unmoving. Something soft and wet was caressing her forehead gently as a sweet voice brought her slowly out of her dark world. Her eyes flitted open and she squinted at first, her eyes dry and her vision blurry.  
  
"She's awake," a girl who was probably only a year or two older than Kagome herself told someone else who was occupying the room. Kagome tried to sit up quickly to put herself to rights and find out where she was but felt instant pain in the back of her neck where the person had grabbed her outdoors. "Ah! Be careful!" the young woman scolded, laying Kagome back down onto the mat she was lying on.  
  
"W-where am I?" Kagome asked, trying to keep her voice neutral but she was very afraid. She did not know where she was, she didn't know who was attending her and she didn't know what had happened to her before she had become unconscious. And who was the person that had grabbed her neck? She had a choice of words for them! Angry words!  
  
"You are in the castle of Lord Inuyasha," came the calm reply. Kagome shifted her gaze slightly to get a better look at the girl who was dabbing her forehead gently with a wet cloth. She was very pretty. Her dark eyes were calm and serene and her long black hair was hanging in a loose ponytail down her back.  
  
"Castle? Lord Inuyasha?" Kagome replied, feeling somewhat aghast. Inuyasha... Why does that name sound so familiar? She thought, trying to put the pieces together. She jumped suddenly when a deep sound of laughter erupted from across the room. She glanced over in alarm and stared at the young man who was sitting there in confusion.  
  
"She truly looks frightened, Sango," He said in amusement as he got up from his chair and walked over slowly to be beside the young woman. He knelt down, his purple robes swinging a bit as he did so. He's... rather handsome, Kagome thought, taking in his sparkling violet eyes and tamed black hair that was tied back in a ponytail. At the present moment, he did not look very interesting than he had moments ago. His lips were now drawn in an impish smirk as she saw his hand wander closer to the woman named Sango's-  
  
"Lady Sango he's going to touch your-"she started but gasped when the girl's arm flashed up and slapped the young man across the cheek without looking. Kagome swallowed and eyed the two as the young man massaged his sore, red cheek. What was going on here?  
  
"Yes, I am all too aware of Miroku's wandering hands," Sango replied, winking at Kagome.  
  
"Oh, I didn't touch you this time. Perhaps I should move on to a more willing participant," The young man named Miroku chuckled, his violet flicking over to where Kagome was half-lying, half-sitting up.  
  
"Me?" Kagome squeaked, her eyes wide and now slightly angry. "Don't you touch me, Lord Miroku! I don't even know you properly!"  
  
"Perhaps we can arrange that then," He answered but then was shoved back by a clearly NOT PLEASED Sango. She forced a smile upon her lovely face and closed her eyes, hoping to impress.  
  
"Oh don't mind him. He's as lecherous as they come," she told Kagome in what seemed to be a comforting tone but Kagome sighed to spite herself. She was far too baffled to do anything at the present moment.  
  
Suddenly, Sango's visage turned into one of pure shock and horror. "Miroku! We have lived alone so long without others here that we have completely forgotten our manners!" she cried, looking over to the young man who was now sitting casually. His own eyes widened and he nodded in agreement. "I am Sango," the young woman told Kagome, bowing her head.  
  
"I am Miroku," came the second response from the young man who was now stationed at Sango's side again, bowing his head as well. So formal! Kagome thought to herself, realizing how very rude she was being.  
  
"I am Higurashi Kagome," Kagome introduced herself, bowing her head to the best of her ability but her neck was throbbing. As soon as they had been properly introduced, her hand went up to massage the strained muscles in her upper spine. "Sango-sama, do you know why my neck is hurting me so much? In the forest, I remember being grabbed there... but... I suppose I was too numb to feel anything until everything went black..."  
  
"Our master rendered you unconscious," Miroku informed her, his voice in good spirits. Kagome's eyebrows fixated together at those words, hoping he would elaborate on such a blatant statement. "From what I heard through all of his frustration, and guilt, perhaps, he found you wandering around on his lands, freezing. He had called out your name but you did not reply so he went to nudge you on your neck to grasp your attention... But, being the strong brute that he is-"Sango rammed Miroku in the ribs for the comment. "Oi, Sango! You know it is the truth!" He defended himself quickly, massaging his now aching side.  
  
"Yes I know it is the truth but that doesn't mean you have to say it aloud like that!" Sango snapped at him, crossing her arms firmly over her chest. "It is quite _rude_, I hope you know," she added, looking away from him.  
  
Kagome watched them, feeling a smile perk at her lips from their behavior. Sango-sama was playing hard to get, she observed as Miroku-sama fought for her attention. _How romantic..._ Kagome mused to herself but was brought out of her thoughts when Miroku started to talk again.  
  
"As I was saying, he grabbed you by the neck, but too strongly, and rendered you into the unconscious state that you were in when he brought you here," Miroku finished, running a hand over his hair briskly, sighing.  
  
Kagome nodded, now understanding the stiffness in her neck but was wondering about the mysterious 'Prince Inuyasha'. _What does he look like and why does it seem like I've heard of him before? _"Sango-sama-"she started to say but realized that the young woman who had been attending her only minutes before was now arguing with the perverted young man sitting next to her on the floor.  
  
"If you don't shut up you'll bring him down here!" Sango barked, catching Miroku's hand as he came to touch her, holding it in front of her. Kagome watched with wide chocolate eyes as a small smile tugged at her lips. She may not have known exactly where she was or felt the most comfortable about how she had gotten to the mysterious castle, but at the present moment, she was having a glimpse at the best entertainment she'd ever seen.  
  
"He's not going to come down!" Miroku shot back in response, bobbing his thick eyebrows at the young woman who he was now currently nearly on top of. Kagome sighed and giggled a bit, stretching her arms out in front of her, her eyes roaming around the room until she saw an open crack in the door. She nearly gasped when a pair of amber eyes met her own.  
  
Chocolate locked with amber for a few brief moments before the door closed completely, leaving Kagome bewildered and curious. Those eyes... They were beautiful, she thought, kicking her legs over the side of the mat she was lying on and got up. Miroku and Sango were so lost in irritating each other that they did not notice the young woman leave the room and poke around the hallways.

. . .  
  
Long corridors, dark and cold, it seemed stretched around about her as she carefully and cautiously explored, minding her neck for it was still ailing her. She raised a hand to touch it tentatively, rubbing gently to aid her sore muscles.  
  
"Lady Kagome!" she heard Sango's voice cry from behind her and saw her slender form rush towards her from the mouth of the long hallway she had wandered into. Panting slightly, Sango grabbed Kagome's arm gently, leading her out of the corridor and back into the light. "It would be in your best interests to stay in the light areas of this castle unless you have Miroku or myself escorting you," the young woman whispered, pointing to all of the well-lit areas around the castle. "Your room is upstairs," she added, starting up the staircase to lead Kagome to her chambers.  
  
What? "Wait just a minute," Kagome said, stopping dead at the foot of the long, winding staircase. Sango looked down to her from the balcony, her brows knit in confusion. "What do you mean my room? I am not planning on staying here," she finished, crossing her arms.  
  
"Well..." Sango fumbled, her eyes suddenly drifting to a spot behind Kagome briefly. The young woman noticed this and whirled around to nearly smack into a hard, warm chest.  
  
"I do believe you are staying..." a gruff, tenor voice ordered her, nearly knocking her off of her feet in shock.  
  
**_Author's Corner:_**

Yes, I know. Big complaints because my last Beauty and the Beast story was very well liked and I even had a sequel for it but hey. I'm trying something new.  
  
Differences from the last BandB story I tried:  
  
Change: Sess/Kag, Mir/San  
Dark Castle (this current story): Inu/Kag, Mir/San  
  
Change: Rated R (for lemons, violence and strong innuendo)  
Dark Castle: Rated PG-13 (for limes, language and mild innuendo  
  
Change: Kagome's grandpa was taken prisoner and she had to trade her freedom  
Dark Castle: Kagome is in the wrong place at the wrong time  
  
Change: Sesshomaru had dreams of Kagome coming to him even though he didn't know who she was in his dreams. He basically had foresight and raised hopes.  
Dark Castle: Inuyasha has no real foresight at all.  
  
There are other differences also but those are the major ones and I promise! This is going to be really different and original compared to the other BandB stories so I hope you like it a lot! Plus, if you're into Zelda then read 'Love The Gift to those that find it!'. It didn't start out as a type of BandB plot but... it's slowly turning into that!


	2. Chapter One

**_Chapter One_**

. . .   
  
Kagome whirled around in alarm to see a youkai. A tall and cruel youkai whose face was hidden from view by an all-consuming mask. She swallowed hard and felt fear rise up in her chest as she stumbled backwards a bit, tripping over the first step on the staircase. This did not serve her well in any manner at all, for she slipped on that one innocent stair and landed right smack on her buttocks. The sound echoed throughout the long, dark corridors, wringing a cringe from the young woman and a flinch on Sango's part.  
  
Kagome's gaze went to the floor in embarrassment as she scratched nervously at her arm for lack of anything to occupy her at the present moment. _Oh KAMI-SAMA! There is a scary monster standing in front of me who is insisting that I definitely am staying at his castle and then I just made a HUGE spectacle of myself by slipping on the steps! He must think I'm such a fool! What if he wants to eat me? Or WORSE! What if-  
_  
"Get up," The youkai barked down to her, startling her from her thoughts. "Are you stupid or something?" he added, his voice lined in irritation and arrogance. Kagome bunched her hands into fists as she swallowed down the anger that was slowly growing in her chest.  
  
"Well," she managed to get out, despite the fear that was clamoring around all around her insides, her voice ornery as she tried not to loose her temper with this supercilious youkai. Even though he was a few heads taller than she was... with a body that looked muscular enough to pull a tree from the ground, she would not let him be rude to her. "You could be a gentleman and help me to my feet," she replied, not looking up at all for fear that she would loose her nerve. "_Good sir_," she added in mock courtesy, her gaze going to see Sango's face. She looked **horrified.**  
  
Suddenly, to her absolute embarrassment and her own horror, she heard laughter. Laughter. Looking up, she saw that the youkai was clearly amused by her! Kagome's visage filled with confusion and anger and she leapt up to her feet, her eyes suddenly becoming distracted by two twitching ears atop his head. _Oh Kami-sama... Ears like that?  
_  
She was brought out of her thoughts again when the youkai who was laughing at her swept her off of her feet and slung her over his shoulder like a five-pound sack of potatoes.  
  
"Hey!" Kagome shouted, banging with righteous indignation on his back, pulling his hair and doing other obnoxious things to make him put her down. This was most definitely _not_ dignified.  
  
"Inuyasha, what are you doing?" Sango asked in exasperation as he leapt up onto the balcony railing and walked up it slowly with a screaming Kagome beating at his back the entire time.  
  
"I'm being a gentleman and escorting the lady-"He growled, tightening his hold on the young woman he was holding until she squealed, complaining that she was suffocating, "to her room!" he finished, letting out a cry of pain when Kagome bit one of his ears. He nearly dropped her from the amount of torment it caused him and he raced up the stairs, kicked open the door to the room he decided she would stay in and threw her down rather roughly onto the bed.  
  
Kagome screamed when someone who was much larger than she was, bounded onto the bed and pinned her arms above her head and straddled her hips. He glared down at her, his entire face hidden by a mask... all save for his eyes... The beautiful amber eyes that she had seen downstairs much earlier... "Get your hands OFF OF ME!" she insisted louder than she needed to into one of the fluffy ears that she had clamped her teeth into earlier, watching with satisfaction when the so called 'Inuyasha' flew back, cupping his ringing ear.  
  
Suddenly, an eerie chill came about the air and a purely animalistic growl escaped from the youkai whose hearing she had impaired in one ear for the time being. Kagome gulped and clutched the soft blankets of the bed beneath her fingers when Inuyasha turned to face her, his hair floating behind him in a non-existent wind. Fear washed over the young woman when his eyes fixed on her. His blood red eyes...  
  
"Kami-sama..." she whispered when he took a step closer to her, baring elongated fangs that were dripping saliva. "What... What happened to you?" she asked softly, her mouth went dry as she got off the bed and tried to head for the door only to have her way of escaped blocked by the youkai who was now on all fours, growling at her, his malicious red eyes flaming towards her in anger. He then ripped off his mask, revealing his true and horrible identity...

. . .

"Sango!" Miroku shouted catching the young woman's attention in the library, his face white with fear. He grabbed for her hand, pulling her to her feet. He then proceeded in rushing out of the library until the young woman who he was dragging unceremoniously dug the heels of her flimsy sandals into the ground, stopping all movement on her part.  
  
"What is it?" She asked him in bewilderment, attempting to pull away from the vice grip that he had on her hand. Miroku whirled around, his eyes wide as he swallowed.  
  
"He hasn't taken it!" The young man informed her, his eyes haunted. Sango pondered this a moment before her realization and common sense smacked her upside the head like Miroku was grabbing where he shouldn't have been. She let out a terrified gasp as she raced down the hall to the kitchen where there was a special wooden box covered in gold lining. She opened it quickly and reached inside, pulling out a full vile, clutching it when she saw that it was full to the top. "I told you so!" Miroku added, his voice hoarse and out of breath.  
  
"Miroku, he's taken the girl Kagome upstairs! What if he lost his temper-" The young woman started to say but was jolted to a run when Miroku grasped her arm, pulling her along behind him as they raced up the stairs.  
  
They stopped dead in their tracks when they heard the growl of a horrible wretched beast emitting from the room dead across from the head of the stairs. Sango swallowed and clutched the vile to her chest as she pressed forward, diverting the drooling hanyou Inuyasha's attention. Miroku whispered words of assurance into her ear and nudged her forward a bit, grinning sheepishly at her when she gave him an irritated glare.  
  
Kagome let out a sigh of relief when the monster's bloody gaze was averted from pining her down in the corner she was situated in. She heard Sango's voice except it sounded tremulous and fearful as she straightened her position, listening hard to what the young woman was saying. _Be careful Sango-sama...  
_  
"I-Inuyasha, y-you didn't take your serum," The young woman stuttered, holding out the vile to the transformed hanyou, taking a step forward so that the small bottle was within his reach. Inuyasha, with his crimson eyes and enlarged fangs let out a menacing, mutated sounding laugh that came from deep within his throat.  
  
"I don't want it," he spat in reply, his enhanced deepened voice sounding like hell itself. He laughed again but then paused when he heard movement behind him. His head whipped around to see Kagome, frozen under his gaze yet again, her dark eyes frightened and confused. "What are you staring at?" he growled, his amusement now channeled anger.  
  
The young woman swallowed and attempted to find her voice. There was something going on here that she didn't know about. Suddenly, she realized why the name 'Lord Inuyasha' rang such a huge bell in her head. _Father had told me a story once of a prince who lived in his lands alone. One night he had... Oh Kami-sama, my memory is awful! I don't even remember what happened at that part of the story even though my father must have told it to me hundreds of times!_ She berated herself inwardly screaming when the transformed Inuyasha leapt towards her to pin her down again.  
  
"Inuyasha!" Miroku roared, leaping forward, grasping the raging hanyou around the waist to distract him. To his luck, the diversion seemed to aggravate and annoy the beast to the point where he lost all interest in Kagome again. "Just what do you think you're doing? Take your serum! You aren't supposed to be this way!" The young man shouted as Inuyasha attempted to pry his vice grip off of himself and resume what he was going to do.  
  
"I'm going to get rid of her! She shouldn't be here! _No_ strangers! _No_ trespassers! _**NO ONE**_!" The beastly creature roared, shaking the floors of the castle and rattling the glass in all of the windows. Kagome's breath was coming out short as she observed this frightening scene, her hands shaking from her own anxiety of the danger of the situation that they were all in.  
  
"Inuyasha, you're not in your right mind! Take the elixir! You have to! If you want to keep your soul!" Sango roared, silencing his raging behavior, making him freeze in place. His blood colored eyes focused on her, as his mind seemed to be torn in two places.  
  
_Kami-sama... It's as if he's having an inward battle with himself... What is happening here? I thought he wanted me to stay... that is how all of this was started... but now he wants me gone? And why do Miroku and Sango want him to take the liquid that's in that vile? Why did he change in the first place! **AAH**!_ _I'm working myself into a headache!_ Kagome cried in her mind, holding the sides of her head to keep her cranium from exploding. Her dark eyes shot up when she heard the sound of a cork popping and then glass shattering.  
  
"Be careful or you'll shatter the bottle," Sango inquired quietly, going to help the transformed hanyou feed himself the elixir in the vile but he would have none of it. He drew his arm back and slapped her away, watching her with greedy intellect as her body crashed against the wall with a redundant smack.  
  
"Sango!" Miroku cried, rushing past Inuyasha who was now taking the serum and fell down on his knees beside her, gathering her crumpled, slender body in his arms, his violet eyes worried and concerned. His gaze drifted upward when he heard gagging sounds come from the hanyou who was now clutching his throat with a vengeance.  
  
"Kami-sama..." Inuyasha hissed, some of his regular mentality returning. His half-red, half-amber eyes gazed around him, taking in the scene. A half broken vile, Miroku hovering over a broken looking Sango in the corner... The girl shuddering in the room that he had dragged her to... He had done all of this and worst of all, his curse was no longer a secret... _Oh Kami-sama... She's **seen** me! GODS! She's seen me!_ He thought in horror as he leapt over the balcony and scurried down the dark long corridor that Kagome had ventured down earlier on her exploration.  
  
_This is impossible... She won't understand at all..._ He thought brokenly as he brought his clawed hands to his face, feeling the awfulness of the curse in the blemishes that were forever scarring his face. They started to burn with a malicious ferocity as the serum was digested into his system, his nerves and feelings now neutral as he let out a dragging sigh. _No one will ever understand... It is as the coward of the spirit who cursed me said... Even though I am surrounded by those who will do me service, if I do not have their friendship, it will not matter... I will still be doomed to be alone... Forever..._

_. . .   
_  
"Is she going to be all right?" Kagome whispered as she helped Miroku to arrange Sango's bed as they went to lay her down on it. The young man placed her down delicately and Kagome drew the covers up to her.  
  
"She should be fine. This is now the first time it's happened, Lady Kagome," Miroku told her softly in response, his voice thick with emotion, his eyes flickering his concern and feelings for the young woman who was lying on the bed, unconscious.  
  
The two lapsed into silence filled with tension as they watched Sango rest, completely oblivious to all that was happening. Kagome brushed a stray lock of her tangled raven hair behind her ear and chewed on her lower lip, wanting some answers, hoping it would not be too bold to ask for an explanation. She was brought out of her concerns when a feminine moan was heard from the bed, accompanied by the rustling of blankets.  
  
"Sango," Miroku breathed, kneeling down next to the bed, taking Sango's hand within his own. Kagome smiled at the two as the young woman in the bed's cheeks flushed red from the simple contact.  
  
"Sango, how are you feeling?" She asked gently, noticing that Miroku and the other young woman were actually ostracizing her somewhat. Sango was brought back to life at the question and smiled weakly up at Kagome.  
  
"Yes, I will be fine in a few hours. I am rather tired though and my neck hurts," She replied, sighing a bit before releasing a huge yawn. Miroku's eyes were wide from such a large yawn but he chuckled warmly, patting the hand that he held in his own.  
  
"I believe that is your cue to leave," Miroku told Kagome, his violet eyes flashing in mischief. Sango let out an exasperated sound and pulled her hand out of his grasp, shoving him away from her entirely. Kagome let out a giggle and pulled Miroku, who was unwilling, to his feet.  
  
"I believe that you were just pushed off," Kagome whispered to Miroku, mirroring the tell-tale smirk that he had had on his lips only moments before. "Come along, Miroku. Let's leave the injured lady to her rest," she finished, pulling the young man who was reaching towards the bed ridden young woman, apologizing and spluttering complaints about how he did not wish to leave her presence and that he was worried about her 'condition.'  
  
"I think my condition will only become worse if you stay with me alone," Sango told him in response, her voice completely full of irritation. "Kagome, please escort him out of here," she added, turning over slowly on her side so that her back was facing the two of them.  
  
"You heard the girl. Out out out!" Kagome ushered, shoving him roughly out of the room, closing the door behind her. "You really are a lech, Miroku-sama," she said to him as they walked side by side down the stairs. He did not reply nor did he react at all to her statement. He merely continued to stare at the ground with the most melancholy of looks on his young and handsome face. "Miroku-sama?"  
  
"He hasn't forgotten to take his serum for months," The young man told her randomly, his violet eyes emotionless as he sped his walking pace and leapt down the last stair. He entered the library and plopped down in the closest chair, assuming a brooding position. Kagome made entrance to the library as well, parking herself in the chair beside him, watching him as he thought.  
  
"How-"She began to say but trailed off, her gaze going to the floor. Her eyes traveled back up his features again to see him staring intently at her.  
  
"Was there something you wanted to ask, Lady Kagome?" He questioned her, his voice enriched in interest. The young woman pondered this over again, biting on the tip of her thumb.  
  
"How did... Lord Inuyasha come to be..." Kagome ended her sentence again, unsure if she should continue or not. She flicked her eyes in all directions around the room, checking to see if the hanyou prince was anywhere in sight.  
  
"He's not here," Miroku supplied to her, startling her from her brief search.  
  
"Well, yes but-"  
  
"He's fled down one of his dark corridors," He elaborated, shifting his position on the chair he was sitting in. "Please continue, Lady Kagome. You have all ready seen the curse that has been bestowed upon the Lord of this castle. You must have questions concerning what you saw upstairs," Miroku added, resting his chin on his hand, regarding her with lazy intellect.  
  
"Yes, yes I do," Kagome replied, letting out the deep breath she did not know she had been holding. "What exactly is the curse and... how did he get those... hideous marks on his face?"  
  
"Are you prepared for this story, Lady Kagome?" Miroku asked, his voice harboring constricted emotion.

. . .

(A/N: CLIFF HANGER! BWA HA HA! Just kidding! The next update should be up soon! Anyways, if you wondering, more information and detail of the entirety of the curse are on the way also!) 


	3. Chapter Two

_**Chapter Two**_

**_. . ._**  
  
"Lady Kagome?" Miroku asked again, bringing her out of her dismantled thoughts. Kagome nodded and adjusted her position in the chair that she was sitting in to find more comfort.  
  
"Years ago, many years ago, this castle used to be ruled by the dear King and Queen of these Northern lands, but they passed on. One from illness and wounds, the other from grief. Inuyasha, still young, was instantly crowned Lord of the castle and lands, taking in all of the responsibility and charge that he was to have grown into as the years passed. There was no other available heir to the throne."  
  
"Being a Prince or a Lord of castle meant that they could do whatever they pleased, call for more servants and attend to his lands however they felt like it. So, like all power deposited folk, Inuyasha fell into greed...  
  
"His selfishness started in the amounts of money he spent. Instead of answering to the call of financial aid from other lands, he spent money on toys or youkai modes of transportations for himself, not even sending one caring thought towards the other Lords of the lands.  
  
"Sango and I were the only two children who were the same age as he, who had befriended him during our childhoods and we watched him change in horror. He lusted for more power than he had; he craved other territories that he could gain by slaughtering the innocent or manipulating weaker leaders... Sango and I decided that we could not bear to see him like this. So, we confronted him about his behavior..."

.  
  
_"Send out riders, Miroku. I want that village by sun down," Inuyasha told the young man forcefully, his deepening voice cracking a bit. When his good friend did not move from his spot, his amber eyes narrowed in irritation. "Why aren't you going? Didn't I just tell you to do something?"  
  
"No, Inuyasha," Miroku told him, crossing his arms in calm defiance over his chest.  
  
"What?" The hanyou snapped, striding towards him, his eyes calculative as he observed his friend. "What are you up to?" he sneered, forcing Miroku to meet his feral gaze.  
  
"I can't let you do something you're going to regret in the future," came the quaint and irritated reply. The hanyou let out a snarl and started to pace angrily.  
  
"I want those lands, Miroku. You wouldn't understand these things," Inuyasha murmured, his voice now a bit softer than it had been. "I have to have those lands."  
  
"For what? So you can have more for yourself? What about the poorer villages contained in that area? They will be your responsibility. You will not be able to handle all of shares," Miroku explained, keeping his voice as neutral as he possibly could because at the present moment, throttling the Lord of the castle in which he was employed in seemed like a very plausible idea. The hanyou stopped moving, his eyes focused on the ground.  
  
"Taking care of them was not part of my plan," Inuyasha snapped finally, breaking the silence that they had lapsed into. The young human man's violet eyes widened dramatically as he felt anger stab at him.  
  
"So you will let them all die," He shouted, as an angry offensive statement, not a question like he had intended it to be. His hands dropped from their crossed position at his chest and balled into tight fists to keep his temper under wraps.  
  
"They're not MY concern, fool! They will be my lands. Not theirs! They will fend for themselves!" Inuyasha roared, shoving Miroku out of the way of the doorway as he stormed out of the study to escape the guilt-trip that one of his best friends was trying to put him through..._

_.  
_  
"Well... Did he take those lands for his own and... leave the humans in the villages to die?" Kagome asked, her voice full of anxiety and horror. She swallowed and then laughed nervously, realizing how far she had gotten into Miroku's tale. He chuckled and sent her an impish grin and told her that she was very lovely when she laughed. Then, his hand started to drift towards the softer areas of her upper body... His movements were ceased when she threatened to castrate him however.  
  
"Well now..." Miroku mumbled, edging away from her a bit. "Is that entirely necessary, Lady Kagome?"  
  
"Um... I do suppose that was a bit extreme but now you know that I don't wish to be touched there, Miroku-sama," The young woman laughed in response, settling down again. "Will you continue with your story? What happened next? Did he go through with his selfish endeavor?"  
  
"Patience, patience. I'm getting there," Miroku told her in a soothing voice, clearing his throat so he could continue. "He was about to fulfill his wish, until Sango found him..."

.  
  
_"Not you too!" Inuyasha yelled, his voice laced in fury. "I want lands and if it takes a couple of villages to pack their bags and move or to go somewhere else to live to get what I want, then so be it!" He finished, panting a bit from the anger that he was experiencing at the current moment.  
  
Sango's eyes were widened in shock and tears slipped down her cheeks as her hand rose to muffle a small sob. The Lord of the castle when rigid when he noticed the crystalline drop rolling down her cheek and smelled the saltiness that had permeated the air. She dried her eyes quickly, willing her tears to stop but they wouldn't.  
  
"Sango... Why are you crying? Stop it," Inuyasha demanded, his voice sounding uncertain and nervous. Dealing with crying women was not an area he had such expertise in.  
  
"Don't you see what's happening to you, Inuyasha?" Sango sniffled, her dark eyes determined as she stared him blankly in the face, watching as he shifted nervously in place, his angry façade replace with a guilty visage. "Can't you hear yourself?"  
  
Her words bounced off of the hanyou's thoughts for a moment as he took this into consideration. He swallowed as unbidden bile and anxiety rose in his throat. He raked a hand through his silver locks and let out a frustrated sound as he grunted and turned the other direction.  
  
"You know what you are doing is wrong... You... You can't go on like this or it will come back to haunt you later. Inuyasha, as your friend I will support you and stay by your side... but not when you commit atrocities!" Sango added, her voice understanding yet unbelievably firm at the same time.  
  
Seeing that her words were having no effect on him for the time being, the young woman sighed and relaxed a bit, the residue of her tears now faded. She scratched at her arm for a moment for lack of anything to do before she sighed and shook her head in defeat. "I will leave you to decide. What does your heart tell you, Inuyasha? To serve yourself and leave hundreds of humans to die... Or do the right thing?" With those words said, the young woman walked out of sight, feeling her chest tighten. What would his decision be?_

_.  
_  
"So... After Sango's moving words... He decided not to do the monstrous thing?" Kagome asked, her voice sounding relieved. Miroku nodded and clasped his hands together in his lap. "Wait! If he did not choose to leave the people to die, then how was he cursed? Miroku! This is twisted!" The young woman cried, falling back into her chair, her eyes fixed on him intently.  
  
"There were many other things that he had done to the Lord's of the Eastern and Southern Lands to make him earn enemies. His own flesh and blood turned against him at the behavior he was demonstrating," Miroku explained, his voice growing sullen as he continued to talk.  
  
"Flesh and blood? Do you mean that Inuyasha has a relative who rules the Western Lands?" Kagome asked. This was rather interesting! Two youkai of the same family ruled two territories of lands!  
  
"Yes, his full youkai brother, Sesshomaru," The young man replied and before she could even ask, he stated, "There were two different queens. The full youkai one was murdered when she was out patrolling without the high Lord and Inuyasha's mother is a human."  
  
"Oh," Kagome barely said, understanding now. "But how did he become cursed? You still haven't told me that! Miroku, you are only drowning now! _Please!_ You are a wonderful storyteller, but I would like the facts and the main plot now. I am getting thoroughly bored," The young woman complained a bit, her eyes begging him to get on with it.  
  
Miroku chuckled at her comment. This Kagome girl was very intriguing and equally defiant and strong-willed to boot. _A perfect hassle for Inuyasha..._ He thought menacingly, imagining the hanyou handling her. He wouldn't last a day. "All right, all right. I'm moving on now."  
  
"Good!"  
  
"Since Inuyasha had tried to dominate all of the lands in the region because of his lust for power that he did not, or could not ever have, the three remaining Lord's began to plot against him. They sent Sesshomaru, since he was kin to Inuyasha, here to inspect the conditions of the Northern Lands, only to see them in terrible decay. He then presented the hanyou with a pact that stated that Inuyasha's territory be bargained between the three remaining Lords for better care and estate, for he was letting his domain crumble and deteriorate under his rule. Inuyasha, of course, refused this. His selfishness and greed were blinding him past anything he could ever dream of having again.  
  
"Since he had refused their offer and had challenged their ethics, the Lords grew angry and knew that waging war against his domain would be a pointless effort. There were too many innocents to be spared in waging a full battle across all four of the lands. So, instead of doing some outward damage, they decided to attack from the inside.  
  
"So, they called upon a miko, an undead soul who was possessed by a demon, for aid. They wanted to remove Inuyasha without actually doing any damage to the lands. The miko suggested a curse, one that would confine him to one area for shame of ever leaving his safe area. Sesshomaru was a bit hesitant to unleash such an agreement but relented when he realized, it was for the best. For his lands and for the people who dwelled there.  
  
"Inuyasha was in the middle of gorging himself at dinner when he detected another aura on his lands. He immediately left the table, in his carelessness, maiming a child vassal's arm in his haste, not bothering to see if he was all right."  
  
"That... That's awful!" Kagome whispered, her voice in disbelief and shock. She swallowed, wondering if she wanted to know the rest of the story. "P- please continue, Miroku-sama."  
  
"He roamed across his lands, coming across the stunningly beautiful miko- demon, detecting the strong presence from her..."

.  
  
_Her long, ankle length black hair flowed behind her in the harsh wind as she stared at an unknown spot in the distance, her cold blue eyes staring back at him when he drew closer. Inuyasha had never witnessed such beauty before and wanted it for his own immediately. He drew closer to her, hoping to seduce her but she would have none of it.  
  
"Why do you approach me as such, Lord Inuyasha?" she asked, her voice stoic as she turned to face him, regarding his handsome state and arrogant posture. "Do you not know who I am?"  
  
"I care not who you are. I only care to please you and take a place between your thighs," The hanyou retorted, his voice cruel as he reached out to grab her arm, watching her with amusement as she pulled out of his reach, a teasing smile on her lips.  
  
"You seem very sure of yourself, my lord. Do you think you can get everything you want this way?" She asked, her voice perking humor though her exterior seemed unruffled.  
  
"I do whatever I want to get what I want. That is how it's been, that is how it will be," Inuyasha told her, his voice ##### as he pulled her into his arms and forced his mouth greedily onto her own, groaning when she fought against him. He broke away from her lips to trail kisses down her throat, grinning against her skin as she protested.  
  
"Release me, beast or you shall be sorry," she whispered, her voice sounding eerie but the hanyou paid no mind. "Do not touch me!" she snapped, attempting to push him away.  
  
"Never. I want you and I will have you. I will always have what I want. No one will ever stop me!" Inuyasha growled, piercing her flesh hungrily with his fangs but as soon as his sharp canines made contact with her pure flesh, the miko began to glow, an ethereal and frightening glow. The hanyou leapt back and shielded his eyes before trying to flee.  
  
"Inuyasha..." The miko snarled, her voice double octaves, her voice tearing at his ears. He sought to cover them up but an invisible force rendered his body paralyzed as he tried to run away.  
  
"Your heart is cold and it seems there is only one person in your heart. Yourself. You will let hundreds of innocents die before you yourself lift a finger to do something that is not for your own benefit. You are a selfish and inconsiderate monster and would do well to become what you really are... I curse you, hanyou. I curse you to live a lonely life, with no one because you do not deserve anyone. In their hearts, no one could ever come to love and accept a creature like you. They would rather look out for themselves than stay with you, I am sure of it. Now, I will leave you stranded, alone, forgotten about with this form..." She cried, the bright light engulfing the two of them, a ringing sound drowned out the sounds of Inuyasha's screams of pain. With that she levitated into the castle, unnoticed as the hanyou's transformation took place.  
  
He fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, his face burning with a million gashes that felt like fire. He felt his body erupt as he no longer felt the pain or the agony he had seconds ago... He smelled blood... His own blood and it seemed to fuel him... He wanted blood, he wanted violence. Red bled through his vision, angering him further more as he let out an animalistic roar to all the surrounding trees, charging back to the castle, not knowing what to do with himself.  
  
Inuyasha broke down the doors, smelling fear and hearing cries of fright at his presence and his altered appearance. He delighted in their cries... Their fear made him feel superior and confident. He leapt forward, chasing those who ran, slashing his claws through their bodies, licking his claws, as he tasted their sickeningly sweet blood. He did not know he had had such a delightful taste for blood.  
  
He continued to rampage and pillage until he heard a familiar voice but he could not place it. "Inuyasha!" the deep, masculine voice sounded. Who was it? Why was he calling his name? Why did he recognize his scent yet not remember who he was? He searched around, seeing the young man come towards him with great speed. He felt threatened and threw the man out of his path of destruction, freezing again when a more feminine scent caught his nose, along with the cry.  
  
"Miroku! What's happened to him?" The young woman cried, helping the young man up. They exchanged conversation; the young woman approached him as the young man ran to help the vassals that were still alive to escape safely.  
  
_Who are they? Why are they talking to me like I know them? Why does the blood on my claws make me feel so good? Who am I? Am I this Inuyasha that the man speaks of? _The hanyou thought, his thoughts in rapture as he fought his urge to fight. He fixed his bloody gaze on the young woman as she continued to speak with him.  
  
"Inuyasha... This is your castle... Your home... Do you remember Miroku? Do you remember me? We've been best friends ever since I can remember! Miroku is always grazing my backside with his hand and I am always clobbering him for it? Inuyasha! Come back to us! What's happened to you?" The young woman chattered, reaching out slowly, so as not to startle him.  
  
_Sango... Miroku! _He thought, closing his eyes as he let out a grunt, his head throbbing as he fought to remember.  
  
"Miroku! I think he's remembering!" The young woman he remembered to be Sango was calling to Miroku. All of the servants had escaped and the young man had barricaded all the doors.  
  
"Inuyasha!" Miroku called, going to his side.  
  
"S-Sango..." The hanyou grunted, his voice sounding bestial and labored. "Miro... Ku..." He fell down to his knees, the scent of blood becoming intoxicating as his memories gradually, and painfully started to return. "That miko..." He moaned. "Where is the miko?" he groaned, as he clawed his face desperately, feeling the wounds re-open as hot blood ran down his face again.  
  
"Miko?" Sango wondered aloud, looking to Miroku who only shrugged. Forgetting this for the time, being, they looked their best friend over with worry, checking him over. The scars on his face weren't closing up like they should have been.  
  
"He's going to bleed to death," Miroku told the young woman quietly, trying to drag him to the kitchen where they could clean him up, but Inuyasha would not be moved.  
  
"She's cursed me... Get away from me! I'll end up murdering you..." Inuyasha growled, his grip on the present slipping as he felt the monster he had become seconds ago start to surface again. "My face... oh my face..." he moaned, holding his bleeding face as he lay down on the floor weakly.  
  
"We can't just let him die!" Sango cried in worry, wondering what she could do. "This is terrible! This is defying the youkai in his blood!"  
  
"Of course it is," an all-knowing emotionless voice said from up above. Three gazes shot up to the ceiling, two curious and one, too weak and angry. "That is the nature of the curse," A beautiful woman spoke, drifting down towards the ground. Inuyasha growled instantly, retracting and wanting to leap to his feet to slaughter her but could not for he did not have the strength. "Do not fight, Inuyasha, for it will only cause your own demise much sooner."  
  
"Why has he been cursed?" Miroku asked, his eyes roaming 'certain areas' on her slender body. Noticing his intricate speculation, Sango bonked him over the head with her fist, glaring at him.  
  
"Do you not know?" The miko asked, crossing her arms in her robes, waiting for a response.  
  
Sango and Miroku grew silent, their gazes going to the ground. Inuyasha was shocked. "I am completely innocent! You are my friends! Defend me!" he shouted in anger, but softened when their eyes went up to the priestesses.  
  
"He may not be the most caring soul in the world, but we are still his friends..." Sango said softly, drawing herself up strongly.  
  
"We will stay by him," Miroku added, nodding in assurance. The miko looked them over, a bit stunned by their strong acts of friendship.  
  
"You will not flee? What if he is to become the beast that he once was? What of the scars on his face? He does not look like he once did nor is he able to return to normal. He could change at one small raise of anger at any given time," The priestess told them, watching them carefully, for any signs of uncertainty. There were none.  
  
"I will stay by him," Sango told her, keeping her posture straight.  
  
"And I will as well," Miroku added.  
  
The miko was silent for a while as her dark gaze went down to the hanyou who was on the ground, clutching his bleeding face. His eyes were deeply saddened as he closed them for a moment. They give him loyalty he knows he does not deserve... Even when I curse him, he still is not alone. "Lord Inuyasha, your friends have earned you a possible leeway," she said after a few moments.  
  
The hanyou's amber eyes were directed up towards the beautiful priestess, as he said nothing, wondering what she was talking about.  
  
"There will be a serum for you every day, transported to you by one of my lesser youkai. It will be laid in front of the entrance to the castle. That serum will control your beast... I will supply the serum to you as long as you are able to show the love and loyalty that your friends are giving to you now. It is unconditional. They know that they might not receive anything in return, yet they stay because they know that you would not be able to live alone for all time. If you can find it in your heart to show this kind of devotion and care to someone besides yourself, I will supply you with the elixir," The miko finished, gauging the hanyou's reaction.  
  
Inuyasha did not say anything at first, but let the intensity of the moment take its toll on him. He was not going to break the curse no matter what he did. First of all, if he did not receive the elixir, he could end up slaughtering Miroku and Sango at the smallest loss of his temper or his patience...  
  
Second of all, he would never be able to love anyone else... They would not be able to accept me if they knew what I really was... This monstrosity that I've been turned into... He swallowed hard but thought it over again, looking up to see his two friends and the miko waiting for his reply.  
  
"I have nothing to loose. Bring me the serum," he stated gruffly, watching as Miroku and Sango let out the breaths that they had been holding and saw the miko nod to him, a vile appearing out of her pocket. She handed it to Sango carefully and bent down on one knee to look him in the eye.  
  
"Remember, if you do not take this... You could regret it. Your wounds will open up and you will not be yourself... Just as you weren't short time ago. Farewell, Inuyasha and do not doubt your heart for that will kill the love that cannot even possibly grow," The miko said before going out the door and disappearing from sight.  
_

.

"Kami-sama..." Kagome murmured, swiping a stray lock of raven hair behind her ear as she chewed on her lower lip. "That... that was..."  
  
"I know," Miroku told her in response, looking her over. "Now that you know what the curse is, do you harbor hatred and fear of Inuyasha? Or do you pity him," he added, standing up from the chair, stretching a bit before he held out his hand to help her in getting up.  
  
"Actually... from hearing the story... I..." Kagome thought about it a moment more before meeting curious violet eyes. "I'd like to help him," she told the young man, watching as his mouth dropped open.  
  
"Do you?" Miroku gasped, his mouth turning up in a shocked, yet pleased smile. "Such enthusiasm, Lady Kagome. I wouldn't doubt it if you could touch his heart... or other places," he added, waggling thick eyebrows. Kagome scowled at him and stomped on his foot, crossing her arms quickly over his chest. "What pain..." he said softly, holding his foot for a brief moment before the sharp pain in his toes subsided.  
  
Suddenly, a loud hungry growl emitted from Kagome's stomach, causing her to double over and clutch it in her embarrassment. "Excuse me," she mumbled, her cheeks tinged pink.  
  
"The stomach never lies. You're hungry," Miroku told her, opening the door of the study for her, leading her to the kitchen. "Let's get you something to eat."  
  
They were unaware that pair of amber eyes, from the darkness, were observing them.

.  
  
(A/N: So, how'd you like it? This was a really long chapter! WOO! Please give me a day or two to recuperate!)


	4. Chapter Three

**_Chapter Three:_**

**_. . ._**  
  
"We have a wide variety of selection for meals so you can choose what you would like. I'm sure there will be something delectable for you," Miroku told Kagome as they continued to walk along.  
  
"Oh, all right," she answered, her chocolate eyes darting around the old fashioned art of the dark castle in wonder.  
  
Something tightened in the cursed hanyou's chest as he watched the intriguing raven-haired girl follow his old friend to the kitchen. _Such untainted innocence,_ he thought, his amber orbs going to the ground. _This is not a place for he_r, he finished, a soft sigh escaping his lips.  
  
"You can not hide forever, Inuyasha," Sango stated, her feminine voice somewhat firm, yet understanding at the same time. The Lord of the castle whirled his head upward to find Sango standing at the foot of the stairs, her body half in the darkness and half in the light, her dark eyes scrutinizing him. His eyes fell away from her gaze and pined forward, watching with interest how the girl was adjusting to Miroku's lecherous ways.  
  
Inuyasha heard the rustling of clothing and then smelled Sango's pine wood scent as she came closer to him. "Do you not want to become yourself again?" She asked him, her voice holding an all-knowing edge. "Do you want to continue to take the serum that the miko leaves you every day? Do you want those awful scars to open up, burning and bleeding painfully until you claw your eyes out?" She finished, her voice somewhat steely as she tried to break through the stubborn wall that he had built around himself over the years.  
  
The hanyou glared down at her and let out an unpleased and impatient growl. "Of course I want to become _normal_ again!" He barked at her, his elongated canines glowing in the murky depths of the blackness. He then calmed and a frustrated growl escaped his lips as he absently rubbed at the scars along his face. "These damned scabs almost opened upstairs. The burning sensation hasn't stopped yet either," Inuyasha added, encompassing his hand completely over his face in shame.  
  
"Just wait until the serum takes its full effect," The young woman told him gently, resting a hand lightly on his shoulder. "Where is your mask?" she asked him, seeing that he was still holding his face.  
  
"I... I ripped it off upstairs," The hanyou answered, his voice thick and muffled by his hand.  
  
"I suppose I should make you a new one, even though sewing hurts my wrists," Sango said, sighing to spite herself.  
  
Inuyasha winced internally as a bit of guilt wormed into his chest. His eyes were apologetic as he removed his hand. "Who needs a mask?" he snapped at her, his voice harsh but the young woman could tell that there was no real fire of emphasis behind his words. He really did want the mask.  
  
"All right," she replied, nodding to him, knowing that he would not be coming out of the dark any time soon without a mask. There would be too much more at risk if Kagome would see him again. Her face had been terrified when she had been exposed to the mutilated visage of scars. "But I'm going to the kitchen now to accompany Miroku and Lady Kagome," she added, entering into the light again, striding meaningfully towards the kitchen.  
  
Inuyasha turned his path towards his chambers, the furthest room down the pitch-black corridor. He swallowed deeply when he felt some nervous bile rise up from his stomach. _This is really hopeless. I'm too much of a coward to go and talk to her again..._ He thought in dismay, closing the door behind him when he entered his room.

. . .  
  
"Kami-sama!" Kagome exclaimed, her chocolate eyes wide with excitement. "You have _everything_!"  
  
"We don't entertain much around here so we are left with bountiful foods and riches," Miroku explained, encouraging her to go and select her choices of food. He smirked at the way the young woman was scurrying around, buzzing with activity as she filled a bowl with noodles and then poured a spicy sauce on them that went with the chicken. He stared at her oddly for a moment, leaning over to smell the contents of her bowl, leaping back a step like he had been burned.  
  
Seeing his bewildered look, Kagome's eyebrows fixated together in confusion. "What?"  
  
"Well... I've never seen someone put that kind of sauce on noodles that were all ready flavored, that's all," He replied, stepping away from the highly spice covered noodles that had made his eyes water from just one whiff.  
  
"I like trying different things. You can't always judge everything by how it looks and smells," she answered, the cute little smile still apparent on her face.  
  
The young man thought about this a moment, wondering if he could somehow catch her in her words now for saying something so wise. "Then you must use the same principle with Inuyasha," Miroku told her, watching her as she dropped her bowl, her face unfazed when it cracked and broke on the floor, the noodles and spicy sauce splattering all over the place.  
  
"I beg your pardon?" she stammered, bending down to clean up the mess she had just made from her general alarm and shock. She stopped when Miroku cleared his throat, her eyes traveling up his body to his face where he was looking at her expectantly.  
  
"You just said that you can't always judge things by how they look and how they smell. Were you just talking about food or were you talking about all things in general?" The young man asked her, waiting for her reply.  
  
Kagome had fallen silent, her heart beating in her ears. Images of Inuyasha's mangled face, his crimson eyes and his cruel laughter ran through her mind, a shiver running down her back from the thoughts. He had truly been frightening. "I..." she started, swallowing before she went to continue. "I meant all things," she finished, sighing before her long raven hair slid over her shoulder to hide her guilty face.  
  
"Then I believe you have just made a hypocrisy," Miroku said to her, bringing a broom out of the corner of the kitchen and started to sweep up the broken pieces of her bowl while Kagome cleaned the noodles and sauce up.  
  
"Yes. I did," the young woman nodded to him, her cheeks slightly red from embarrassment at being caught in her own words. She sighed again when she had finished wiping up the last remains of the sauce, her mind elsewhere. _I wonder how 'Lord Inuyasha' feels about all of this anyway._ She got up to go and serve herself more of the dish she had been about to eat earlier as she thought things through. _I know that if I were in his place that I would be frustrated, cold, angry, aloof and scared to come out of hiding at all... And I imagine I worsened the situation earlier..._ she closed her eyes and rested her head on the table beside her new bowl of noodles. "Miroku- sama?" she asked, tilting her head in the young man's direction while her head continued to rest on the table.  
  
His violet eyes met her chocolate ones as he took a bite out of a large red apple, the juice flying everywhere. Kagome squealed and cupped her eye for some of the fruity liquid had splashed into her eye. "So sorry," the young man apologized sheepishly, winking at her before he shifted his weight to the other foot. "Was there something that you wanted?"  
  
_I judged him before I got to know him... He might not be all bad... Maybe I can learn to look past those frightening scars on his face and the monster he becomes if he doesn't take that... serum stuff,_ Kagome thought before she answered Miroku's question. "I think... I think I'm going to try," she told him, watching as his head tilted to the side in slight confusion.  
  
"Going to try what?" The young man asked, taking another juicy bite out of the apple, watching as Kagome hid her face to keep from getting juice all over her.  
  
"I think I'm going to try... and get to know him. To become his friend..." The young woman replied, watching as Miroku nodded with a soft smile on his face with a perverse, leering look in his eyes.  
  
"What if you become more than a friend?" The young man questioned her, winking at her, his mouth curving into a hentai grin with many fantasies. Kagome let out a sound of exasperation and threw the closest thing at him. It just so happened to be a long wooden spoon. Miroku was expecting the attack and he dodged out of the way quickly, his face feigning innocence. "Did I do something to provoke your ire, Lady Kagome?"  
  
The young woman groaned and ignored him, brushing past him towards the door of the kitchen, nearly knocking into Sango. "Oh! I'm sorry!" she apologized, bowing quickly for her rudeness.  
  
"You don't have to show such formality, Kagome. In fact, you may call me Sango-chan if you like," The ebony haired woman told the slightly young woman before her. Kagome nodded and thanked her, telling her the same. "Did you enjoy dinner?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, very much but now I think I need some fresh air," Kagome excused herself, walking swiftly towards the exit to the castle to go and sit on the old, dark patio. Sango and Miroku watched her until she was out of sight before they began to converse in low voices.  
  
"She says she's going to try," Miroku whispered, closing the distance a bit between himself and the pretty woman beside him.  
  
"Going to try what? Not get touched by you even though I think that feat is entirely unavoidable," Sango replied, humor alight in her sweet sounding feminine voice. The young man sighed and shrugged, his eyes going towards the floor in what looked to be shame.  
  
"Am I really that bad?" He asked her sincerely, all hints of the hentai he was being a little while ago vanished. Sango looked him over for signs of deceit but found none. She then sighed and took one of his hands into her own, holding it with a light touch.  
  
"No, Miroku. You can really be quite good sometimes... When you're being sincere," she finished, leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek. The handsome young man's violet eyes were as wide as watermelons and his cheeks as pink as the insides of the fruit when she pulled away.  
  
"Why, Sango..." he stuttered, his hand now tightening around hers. "Well... I wouldn't have expected something like that coming from _you_..." He finished, his gaze meeting hers before she smiled kindly at him, not saying a word.  
  
"Weren't you saying something about Kagome trying something earlier?" she asked, changing the subject, pulling her hand out of his grasp. Miroku cleared his throat, getting a damper on the blush in his cheeks and ran a hand over his hair briskly.  
  
"She says that she is going to try and befriend Inuyasha," He replied, nodding to her when she gasped in disbelief.  
  
"Really? Are you certain?" She questioned him, not buying what he was saying at all.  
  
"Yes, I am. Earlier she said that one could not always judge things by the way they looked and smelled... and I caught her in her own words and made her make a hypocrisy out of the statement," He elaborated, chuckling to himself. "I am _such_ a con artist."  
  
"Yes, you are. I wonder... I wonder if she could ever fall in love with him," Sango wondered aloud, starting towards the door of the kitchen. Miroku broke out in a light sheet of sweat, his thoughts going back to the kiss on the cheek and the holding of her hand. _I can't let this moment go by!_ He thought anxiously, wondering how he could get her to stop without frightening her away.  
  
"You are always thinking about Inuyasha's heart... but you have never considered what I feel in mine, Sango," the young man called to her, observing her as her form went rigid and her head whirled back to where he was standing, her dark eyes belying confusion... and... was that... hope?  
  
"What are you _talking_ about, Miroku?" The young woman with ebony hair asked in slight impatience, walking to the doorway of the kitchen to send him a clean-cut glare.  
  
_This is your chance... You've got her full attention_, Miroku said to himself in his head, approaching her slowly, reaching out his hand to touch her face lightly, feeling the soft warmth of her skin beneath his fingertips. "Sango..." He whispered, his eyes speaking for themselves.  
  
"What?" she answered, her voice just as thick and husky as his, her eyes expectant as they darkened a bit from passion and desire.  
  
"Don't you know?" He asked her his head coming closer to hers as his hot breath started to beat against her face. Sango felt an adrenaline rush and broke out into a cold sweat, her lips trembling with anxiety as he began to close the distance between them. She did not know what to do... and she did not know if she was entirely ready.  
  
"No..." she said softly, watching with a heavy heart as Miroku's eyes widened and looked at her in genuine hurt and confusion. He licked his lips and pulled back slightly, his hand cupping her cheek still. "No I don't know," she finished, swallowing deeply when the young man took his hand back and brushed past her out of the kitchen, looking back to her, his eyes sad and remorseful.  
  
"I see," he told her, nodding as a melancholy smile brushed across his lips. It's my own fault she resists, Miroku thought as he strolled along the halls of the castle. _I have not shown her true loyalty._ He sighed, feeling the heaviness in his chest that could only be disappointment and rejection but squashed it down, deciding he should go and tell his good friend the news about Kagome's decision.  
  
As he went down the corridor, the blackness consumed him. He shivered a bit. He didn't mind that Inuyasha stayed down this hall, the darkest one in the castle, but pitch-blackness had never been his ally. He arrived at the end of the hall and knocked on the door softly before he opened it a crack and peered inside.  
  
"Inuyasha?" he called, searching around the chamber, finding it empty. The hanyou was nowhere to be found. Shrugging, Miroku decided that he would find him another time and continue to sort out his feelings for Sango and how he should have approached them properly until then.

. . .  
  
_Kami-sama... At this place you would think it is winter!_ She shivered a bit to herself, pulling her cloak and kimono closer to her body to keep out the chill. Her eyes drifted around as she continued to observe the surrounding area. _Dark forests, dark skies... A dark castle... I believe I am trapped in a gothic nightmare,_ she thought, sighing, watching her breath, as it became a cloud in the wind.  
  
Kagome was so caught up in her observations that she did not notice the shadow that loomed overhead before the owner of it landed a few steps to her right. She heard the sound of something landing beside her and her eyes were instantly drawn to it. Her breath quickened in fear when she saw nothing. She let out a sigh of relief but then stiffened when someone spoke behind her.  
  
"How's your neck?" came a gruff, irritated voice that Kagome could only guess belonged to the Lord of the castle. Inuyasha winced when he smelled a spike of fear in her scent and bit back the urge to growl at his own carelessness.  
  
_It's all right... Just breathe... It's only..._ she swallowed, thinking back to the scars and the eyes. _Brrrrr..._ she finished, punching herself in the head mentally. She was supposed to be trying to get to know him! Not label him off as some sort of monster... even though technically, he was one.  
  
"Um... It's still kind of stiff but it's all right," Kagome replied, attempting to keep her voice cheerful. She was attempting to look behind at him, gathering her own courage, praying that he was now wearing a mask again. She gulped and turned quickly to see him perched on all fours on the banister of the patio with a cloth that had eyeholes torn into it on his face. "Do you not have another mask?" she asked softly, hoping to form some more 'pleasant' conversation.  
  
"No. And Sango has bad wrists so she can't make me a new one," came the spoiled, annoyed reply. Kagome was becoming rather rigid at his tone of voice but decided that she would try her best to put up with it. _It probably wasn't easy for him to just come out to talk to me anyway but he's here and he's trying... That has got to count for something,_ the young woman thought, nodding in reply to the hanyou's response.  
  
"Well... If Sango is unable to sew... I could make you one," she offered gently, watching as his eyes and face snapped up to meet hers. Ah, she remembered those eyes. They were peaceful, confused, reckless amber that almost stole her breath away. "Or... you could go without it..."  
  
"And have you run off?" Inuyasha snapped impatiently, his ears flattening against his head at his retort. He made a low sound in his throat and looked ready to leap away until he felt a light touch on his sleeve. He turned slightly and out of the corner of his eyes saw her face... looking at him with kind and sad eyes.  
  
"I... I'm sorry for my reaction earlier..." Kagome apologized, releasing the hold she had on his sleeve, drawing back to bow down her head. "Your face... it just frightened me, that's all... I..." she didn't know how she wanted to word what she had to say.  
  
"Of course it frightens you..." he snapped, his voice not as hard as it had been moments ago. He let out a defeated sigh and sat his bottom down on the banister, his legs dangling from it now. "It should frighten you. That's the curse," the hanyou added, resting his chin on his hand.  
  
"But... you shouldn't let the curse control your life... I... I want to stay here," Kagome said to his statement, swallowing when his amber gaze was pined on her again in shock and perplexity. "I... I'd like to get to know you... Now that I know your story..."  
  
"You... You would want to stay..." Inuyasha repeated, his voice sounding uncharacteristically soft. His eyes darted around in thought for a few moments before he sneered, "You're staying because you pity me, **aren't you**?"  
  
Kagome stepped back a bit, wondering what to say next. Just tell him the truth. If he can't handle the truth, then he really is hopeless. "Yes... I do, in a sense... but--"she stopped, reaching out again to hold his shirt sleeve before he could run off. "Hey!" she snapped, watching as he turned an angry, defiant gaze towards her. "I also think that you can overcome this, ok? That's why I want to **stay**!" she finished in a yell, hoping that her words could convince him.  
  
"Would you?" He asked, his voice sounding like she was going to betray him. "Would you stay here with a monster like me?" He barked at him, grabbing the hand that was holding his sleeve desperately and gripped it firmly. Kagome winced at the pain that shot through her hand at his strength but nodded to him, letting out a sound of relief when he released her hand. "Promise me you'll stay. You have to promise me," the hanyou ordered, crossing his arms as he scrutinized her intensely under his eyes.  
  
"I promise that I'll stay here with you, Lord Inuyasha," she stated with the utmost sincerity, her voice sounding a bit tremulous. The hanyou looked her over, seeing that she was being true and got off the banister and opened the door to the castle. Kagome stared at him for a moment in confusion before he let out an impatient sound. He was being a gentleman and holding the door open for her!  
  
Kagome sent him an appreciative smile as she walked into the castle, her stomach feeling slightly odd with what she had just agreed to. _Well, I **did** promise. And I am an honest girl and I keep my word. I suppose that I'm staying here until... he releases me..._ she thought, her eyes going back to look at the Lord of the castle who was watching her with the same curiosity.  
  
_She's actually going to stay_, Inuyasha thought with disbelief, his cheeks still flushing underneath the cloth he was wearing from the soft smile she had sent him. He swallowed as she went up the stairs to her room. When she was out of site, he fled to his own chambers to escape the fluttery feeling that he had just gotten in his chest just from the looks she had been sending him.

. . .  
  
"Kagome-chan," Sango called from behind the door, knocking a few times. Kagome sat up on her bed, stretching a bit as she got up to answer the door. "Would you like to escape to the hot spring and take a bath?"  
  
"You have a hot spring?" Kagome gasped, a smile evident on her lips.  
  
"Hurry! Before Miroku discovers where we are going!" The slightly older young woman added quietly, shoving a towel into Kagome's arms as they scurried down the stairs and went to rush off towards the hot spring.  
  
_They are going to bathe, are they? Very well..._ Miroku thought mischievously, slinking after them, out of site and undetected.

. . .  
  
_Writer's Corner:_  
  
Dun dun dun...  
  
Oh yes! A couple of things!  
  
Thank you for all the support I have been given and thank you for nominating me for this story! The only problem is is that now I have to write like two more chapters to meet the deadline! AAAAAAAAAAH! That's ok though because it will keep me on my toes and force me to write well! Well, the next chapter should be up in about a day so until later! R and R please!  
  
Luv, RayJay


	5. Chapter Four

**_Chapter Four:_**

**_. . ._**  
  
_Aaaaaah..._ Inuyasha thought, his mind turned off as his body relaxed in the steaming water of the hot spring. All of the tension had left his muscles and the rag was absent from his face, but he didn't care as long as he was alone. _Sometimes I just need to relax,_ he told himself, glad that he had come here.  
  
His peacefulness and tranquility were interrupted however, when he caught whiff of two distinctly feminine scents and the giggles that accompanied them. His eyes widened and he leapt from the water quickly, snatching for his towel, his eyes darting around for another means of escape besides the door that the two young women were going to come through. He panicked a little, wondering what he should do but gave up and leapt behind a stone that was being used as decoration.  
  
"Oh Sango-chan! It's beautiful!" Kagome exclaimed, dropping her towel on the side of the spring before shedding her clothes off quickly. Inuyasha averted his gaze with modest respect for her privacy, his face the color of a cherry. Sango followed in suit and soon both of the fair young women were bathing in the hot spring. Inuyasha gulped and decided to be brave, and a little bit naughty, and stole a glance at Kagome.  
  
"I told you it would be," Sango replied when they were in the water. She gasped when Kagome sent a wave of water flying at her face and then mirrored the attack.  
  
"Oh no! Hot water!" The young woman who was a new resident to the castle cried, laughing with joy before she went under quickly to wet her head and hair. When she emerged from the water, she sighed and leaned against the side of the spring, relaxing completely. "This is really nice," she moaned a little bit, the steam flushing her soft features.  
  
"Mm hm," came the contented reply from the young woman who was across the spring, doing the exact same thing. "Kagome-chan?" The girl's head lifted at the call of her name. "Um... what is the real reason you have chosen to stay here at this castle? I mean... You really don't have too but- -"  
  
"I want to stay here with you, Miroku-sama and Inuyasha-sama. Even though at first I didn't want to stay... now it feels as if I have too. I know about the curse, I know what will happen if the Lord of this castle doesn't take his serum..." she trailed off, not really knowing what to say next.  
  
"But... You will stay anyway? Doesn't anything frighten you here?" The young woman pressed and Inuyasha's stomach flopped.  
  
_Kami-sama, Sango! Are you trying to convince her to leave?_ He barked at her in his head. Suddenly, his eyebrows fixated together when he heard the faint rustling of clothing and caught scent of something masculine. _Miroku...  
_  
"I was afraid at first... but seeing what kind of an environment this is... Makes me feel more secure. To tell you the truth, I would much rather be here than at home where I was going before I got lost in these woods," Kagome answered, reaching for the soapy substance that was beside the spring that Sango had brought along with her. "Oh! It smells like roses!"  
  
"Ah, Kagome-chan... What's at home? Why don't you want to go there?" The ebony haired young woman asked before blushing a moment. "I'm sorry for being so nosy but I'm just curious. It's been a long time since I have had female companionship," she added, taking the bottle of rose-scented soapy substance from Kagome and lathered some onto her own body.  
  
"I have ten other brothers and sisters... And I am the oldest. My mother told me I was allowed to live in the village we used to live in still because I was old enough to work in the store that my uncle owned... But recently, my uncle has taken ill and my mother did not want to burden him anymore so she sent me word to come home.... And I was headed home but... Well, you know the rest," The young woman finished, rinsing her hair and her body off.  
  
Sango's eyes widened when the sound of a sandal slipping sounded behind her. She motioned for Kagome to halt all movement and lower her exposed body into the water. Kagome gulped, her chocolate eyes darting around, wondering what Sango was listening for until the young woman emerged from the water, wrapped a towel around her and then charged into the bushes, finding a peeping-  
  
"Miroku-sama!" Kagome squealed, scurrying out of the water, lunging for her own towel, strapping it around her body, hoping it covered every part of her that he had been staring at.  
  
_Serves you right, you old pervert_, Inuyasha thought in amusement, wondering how he would escape from the beating that Miroku was receiving from both girls if he was discovered. _I won't be discovered though. I am too cunning.  
_  
"I apologize, ladies! It won't happen again, I swear it!" The young man apologized, a sheepish smile appearing on his reddened face from all the slaps he had received from both parties.  
  
"You lie like the rug in the study, Miroku, now get out!" Sango roared, watching with satisfaction and a red face as the young man scrambled to his feet and bolted out the door. She sighed and shook her head, her dark eyes melancholy. Kagome noticed the change in her demeanor and sighed.  
  
"Men can be such callow fools," she muttered and Sango nodded. Upon seeing how her words did not really have the effect she wanted them to, she decided that she would ask something that she had been part of her perception when she had arrived at the castle.  
  
The way Sango and Miroku would flirt around, the way he would look at her with adoration, desire and just plain hentai thoughts... He would follow her around when she wasn't looking..._ And when he grabbed my bottom, he was waiting for her to slap him..._ Kagome thought to herself, swallowing before she dived into her question.  
  
"Sango-chan," She started, catching the young woman's eyes quickly. "Does... Um... Does Miroku-sama have an... infatuation with you?" she finished, watching as Sango sighed and nodded, looking a bit irritated.  
  
"Yes, but he is such a pervert and has no commitment all the time that I feel that I cannot-"she broke off gasping, her face red. She swiftly looked Kagome in the face and worried her lip between her teeth quickly. "I... I did not mean for that to come out..."  
  
"Oh! I won't tell anyone! I promise!" The young woman exclaimed, nodding furiously. "So... You do like him don't you?" Kagome added, a sly smile appearing on her lips as she giggled when Sango's blush deepened. "Why don't you just tell him?"  
  
"It's... ah... more complicated than that..." Sango tried to explain, trying to think of a really good reason. "Well... it's not that I don't want to... it's just... I'm afraid..."  
  
Inuyasha shifted his position so he could be more comfortable as he listened to the young women chat avidly. This was interesting! He had never known how Sango had felt about Miroku. It was, however, quite obvious how the young man felt about her. And boy did he like to_ feel_ her...  
  
"Afraid?" Kagome asked, not really understanding, but by the look on the other young woman's face, she could see that this was really bothering her.  
  
Sango nodded, her dark eyes going to look at the water of the hot spring. She sighed and ran her fingers through her wet hair before she continued. "What if I am not what he seeks? What if... what if I am not beautiful enough? What if..." she trailed off in a sigh and blew out an extended breath. "What if he does not want me for who I am... and only for my body?"  
  
_Damn it, Sango. That look on your face is enough to give even ME a guilt trip!_ Inuyasha thought, his eyes silently observing Kagome as she continued to talk to his long time friend.  
  
"If he doesn't want you for who you are, then he doesn't deserve you. You are a wonderful person, Sango-chan," The young woman who was new to the castle told her, flashing her a cheerful smile.  
  
"Thank you for saying so, Kagome-chan," Sango replied and then laughed softly when the young woman beside her nearly tripped over her clean kimono as she got into it.  
  
Inuyasha averted his eyes again; his face feeling like it would explode at any moment. _You fool! You should be staring at her and enjoying the free view_, one part of his mind chastised but the other half of his mind wanted to respect her privacy. Plus, the first part of his mind sounded more like Miroku than anyone else...  
  
When the women had exited the hot spring, he quickly made his get-away as well, dressing himself in the blink of an eye, fleeing down his corridor to have sanctuary in his room.

. . .  
  
The night passed slowly for Kagome in her new room, in the new castle, surrounded by new people. She sighed and rolled over again, seeking a comfortable and warm position, not finding one. Next, she hurled one of her arms over her eyes in an effort to calm herself but could not find the refuge she sought.  
  
Kagome sat up in a huff, throwing back the blankets of the bed as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and got to her feet. She stretched lazily and draped a robe that was by her door, left by Sango, over her sleeping yukata as she sought to explore a little bit.  
  
She exited her room and slunk down the stairs very carefully, her feet barely making a sound as she padded along the carpeted way. Deciding that she wanted to read, she went toward the study where she had been many unfortunate hours earlier getting nursed by Sango. Kagome entered the study cautiously, gasping when she saw two amber orbs staring at her in the darkness. She then calmed, realizing that it was only Inuyasha. _That's amazing... His eyes are even visible in the dark...  
_  
"What are you doing up?" He asked gruffly with a bit of unbridled wonder in his voice. She wasn't fleeing from him... That was a first!  
  
"I... um... couldn't sleep," she replied, attempting to force a smile upon her lips but it would not come.  
  
_She couldn't sleep? What the hell do I say to that?_ The hanyou thought in frustration, not really caring much for all of the small talk. Instead of giving the comforting reply that Kagome was hoping for, he snorted at her in impatience. "Well then. I guess you weren't trying hard enough, now were you?"  
  
The young woman's shoulders drooped as she let out a sigh, walking deeper into the dark room, not daring to light a candle or stoke a fire because of his presence. "Can't you just try to be nice?" she asked gently, seeing his amber gaze was everywhere else in the room but on her face.  
  
"Why should I be nice when it doesn't matter any more?" The Lord of the castle snapped, standing up briskly to scuffle out of the room but was stopped when the young woman who was a new occupant of his castle let out a frustrated, angry sound.  
  
"See, you selfish bastard? That's the attitude that got you into this in the first place!" Kagome shouted, her chocolate eyes widening in horror at what she had just said. She clamped her hand over her trembling lips and swallowed deeply when a very angry hanyou started to advance towards her with a menacing look in his eyes. "I... I'm sorry..." she apologized quickly, but realized it was too late.  
  
"And what would YOU know about it?" Inuyasha rasped at her, shoving a chair off to the side to emphasize his great distress. He then laughed maniacally and ironically as he ran a hand through his silver locks that seemed to be shining even with the lack of light. "You think I want to be cursed like this, **_little girl_**?"  
  
Kagome stood silent, his flaming amber eyes scorching her with their fury. She released a shaky breath and shook her head 'no' the best she could, feeling her heart pounding in her chest. "No... I don't think you want to be cursed like this... But..." she inhaled deeply and said what was in her heart. "Don't you want to be saved?"  
  
The tension in the hanyou's muscles left him at those words and his body sagged in defeat for a moment. He growled minutely in his throat and whirled around so that he wouldn't have to look at her anymore. "You don't know anything about me," he told her softly, his voice not harboring the hatred and anger that the young woman had heard only moments ago.  
  
"Maybe not, but I can get to know you," Kagome replied, her voice much softer and a lot less frightened than before. "You're shoving me away when all I want to do is help you," she added, reaching her hand up and out to touch his shoulder but withdrew like he had bitten her when he spun on her, snarling.  
  
"Help me,** help me**, **_HELP ME?_** Why does everyone always say that and then lie to me?" The prince of the castle yelled and then burst from the study, back to his chambers where he could be alone. Kagome let out a cry from behind him not to go but he vanished in the blink of an eye.  
  
_No matter what I do or say... He shuts me out... I never thought I'd say this... But he is hopeless_, Kagome thought, pulling her robe tighter around herself as she made her way up the stairs again, suddenly not wanting to be by herself in this castle unless she was in a safe, enclosed space.

. . .  
  
"Inuyasha," Miroku sang, rapping on the door to his old friend's room, humming to himself a little bit. "Open the door," he called in, knocking harder before getting an idea. "I might just have to sing... _The_ song," he added and nearly fell backwards when the door that he was leaning on was pulled open right out from under him revealing a very cross-looking hanyou.  
  
"What the hell do you want?" Inuyasha asked in annoyance, standing in his doorway, not allowing the young man entrance to the dark chamber.  
  
"Lady Kagome is out in the back all by her lonesome... Why don't you go and keep her company, hm? It's not very gentleman like to leave a woman alone," He pried, bobbing his thick but neat eyebrows towards the cursed half-demon but backed off when he saw that his close friend was not interested.  
  
"Like I care. She can go to hell," Inuyasha spat his voice sounding defeated. Miroku released a tsk-ing sound when he did not hear the normal angry fire behind his friend's words and slithered into the hanyou's chamber. He approached one of the curtain-covered windows and pulled it open a bit so the both of them could have a look outside.  
  
"A lovely view, wouldn't you say?" The young man whispered, only for the hanyou's ears. Inuyasha's eyes gazed out the window to see Kagome walking alone, her raven locks blowing behind her in the cold breeze, her chocolate eyes bright with adventure. He swallowed and felt his chest tighten as his youkai half began to scrutinize the young woman in other areas...  
  
"Inuyasha?" Miroku asked, seeing his friend's daze. The hanyou let out an angry sound as his cheeks flushed red from embarrassment. The young man's eyes widened and he let out a rich laugh that totally exposed the prince of the castle. "I thought you said she could go to hell but now I suppose you are re-thinking that statement and making up... another version of hell," he finished, bobbing his eyebrows again.  
  
"Will you STOP doing that?" Inuyasha barked, letting out an exasperated sound as Miroku continued to tease and banter. When his friend would not stop his aggravating, Inuyasha shook his head and let out a small sigh, his body relaxing. He then cleared his throat and walked away from the window, his eyes re-adjusting to the dark.  
  
"She is very beautiful, isn't she?" Miroku asked, all teasing remarks gone from his solemn and gentle voice. "You're very lucky that a beautiful woman ended up here instead..." he cleared his throat to keep the laughter out of his voice but ended up releasing some anyways. "Instead of an old, wrinkled hag!"  
  
"Oh shut up! Don't you ever STOP?" The hanyou roared, crossing his arms in irritation, before a sick smirk crossed his own lips. "And if that wrinkled old hag would have come... I would have left her to you and taken Sango because it's clear that you do not intend to make an honest woman out of here! So there!" Inuyasha finished. His statement was meant to be a joke but Miroku found no traces of humor in his words.  
  
"What?" He asked, his eyes looking slightly dangerous, if not hurt. Inuyasha cleared his throat, realizing his error and returned his gaze to his good friend.  
  
"That was too far, I suppose," Inuyasha whispered, his eyes going regretfully to Miroku who nodded, crossing his arms.  
  
"Just a bit," The young human man replied, his voice slightly angry but his expression softened when his gaze went out the window again. "Inuyasha, Kagome really is a sweet girl. She is not staying for selfish purposes nor is she staying because you are forcing her to," Miroku told the hanyou continuing. "She stays because she wants to get to know you and help you. Don't you find that special?"  
  
Inuyasha had no reply for his friend's words but he sighed and ran a hand through his silver hand, it was a nervous gesture, Miroku knew. "I... I just don't know how to handle... kindness like that without thinking she wants something from me," The lord of the castle finished, his voice very low and melancholy.  
  
"You had better get used to it," The young man chuckled, pulling his friend over towards the window, pointing. "She has plenty of kindness," he finished, watching Inuyasha's eyes go wide at the site.  
  
"Oh no... She is NOT bringing a PET in here!" The hanyou snarled, bolting out of his chambers to go and tell Kagome that he would not have other's in the castle.  
  
Miroku shook his head, a tell tale smile on his lips. Inuyasha, she's all ready got you wrapped around her finger, he thought before he exited the room to go and watch the scene play out outside and laugh at Inuyasha's failure when he would give in to Kagome's wishes to keep the small youkai that had wandered onto the premises under unfortunate circumstances.

. . .  
  
_Writer's Corner:_  
  
Sorry about the late update! I was in New York for a few days and then I got grounded! I'm going to go on vacation again this afternoon for three days so I probably won't update until then anyways. If you're dying for a chapter then may I suggest any of my other Inuyasha stories to you.  
  
Oh yes! Thank you to all who have been giving me words of encouragement! They really mean a lot ;).  
  
Well, that's all for now! Bye bye!


	6. Chapter Five

Sorry to say that the only reason I edited this chapter was that when I went back to skim over it for a review of what had happened, I saw a ton of spelling errors and words that I forgot to type and such. So, there isn't anything new. I promise! I'm updating as we speak!

_**Chapter Five:**_

Kagome held the small child in her arms as it trembled and sobbed brokenly. From his scrunched up position, she could not tell that he was mortified and frightened of something, even more so than when he had sprawled into her arms, yelling for help. She made small sounds of comfort and stroked the silky red hair that covered his head, hoping that he would calm down so she would be able to speak with him and get some wanted answers.

"It's ok, honey, stop crying," she lulled, adjusting his position so that his head was rested on the dip of her shoulder. It was then that the young woman noticed he had a tail. An adorable, fluffy fox tail. _He must be a kitsune demon_, she thought as the little boy that she held started to hiccup more than he was sobbing. _Good, he's calming down a bit._

"T-they are gone!" The small youkai moaned, through tremors and hiccups. "Ma... Pa..." he finished, his little hands grasping the shoulders of Kagome's cloak as he spilled more tears from his tortured emerald eyes. "I'm all alone..."

"Shhhh," Kagome whispered, nuzzling her face into his back, trying her best to appease the poor boy. "Would telling me what happened help you?" she asked, trying her best to be comforting even though she did not know how to treat the poor little crying boy.

"No," the kitsune replied, his voice raspy from his tears as he continued to tizzy and shake in Kagome's grasp.

"All right," the young woman whispered, sighing a bit. "Well, why not tell me your name?" she suggested, watching as the tears stopped momentarily as the cute little boy looked at her face with puffy eyes and a red face. "Wouldn't knowing someone else help to ease your loneliness?"

The kitsune boy thought about this for a moment before he barely nodded, his small hands rising to wipe at his fevered eyes. He sniffled a bit as he fought to gain what little composure he had. "I am Shippo," he told her softly, his little voice cracking a bit because his throat was so dry from wailing and sobbing aloud.

"Well, Shippo, I am Kagome and it's very nice to meet you," she told him, her face kind and gentle but suddenly, Shippo's face of calm transformed into one of horror. Kagome saw his change in expression and looked to him questioningly, seeing that he was staring at something behind her. She whirled with slight fear in her chest to see Inuyasha, looking angrier than he had the night before in the library. "Oh! Lord Inuyasha," she started, her voice slightly jumpy. "What a nice... surprise!"

"Surprise my ass," the cursed hanyou snorted and crossed his arms, his ambers eyes fixating upon the little bundle that she was holding in her arms. "What the hell is that?" he asked, approaching her to stare into the kitsune's eyes, frightening the child more.

"He's not a what. His name is Shippo and from what he was muttering earlier, his parents were murdered," Kagome told him, her voice slightly sharp as her eyes narrowed in irritation at his rudeness. Inuyasha scoffed and crossed his arms insolently over his chest.

"So?" The hanyou asked, his voice completely disinterested. Annoyance started to boil within Kagome as Inuyasha tempted her further down that road. She cleared her throat and calmed herself so that she was able to speak in an even, leveled voice.

"Lord Inuyasha, can Shippo stay here at the castle? He has no where else to go and his family is all gone," Kagome said, doing her best to pout out her lip and make her chocolate eyes large for guilty emphasis.

The cursed hanyou swallowed at her facial features, feeling something tugging in his chest at the site. _She's pouting? Whatever for?_ He wondered to himself, feeling slightly at fault for it. _Maybe it was something I said? GAH! Who cares! This girl is too much of a whiny crybaby anyway!_ Snarling, Inuyasha paid no heed to her words of suggestion towards the fox boy or her attempts to make him empathize with the small youkai. He burrowed his arms deeper into his sides as he hunched a little bit, a growl escaping his lips.

"I want to leave, Kagome-sama," Shippo whispered as he trembled slightly from the sight of Inuyasha. "I will just live in the forest on my own... even though I used to rely heavily on my family..." he finished, attempting to hop down from her arms but Kagome wouldn't have it. She squared on Inuyasha, who was currently simmering, and confronted him, standing on her tiptoes so that she could at least stare into his face, even though he still towered over her.

"You selfish-"she started, making a noise of exasperation. "Do you only care about yourself? This little boy's family is now gone and he has no place to stay and you are muttering and growling just because I _dared_ to ask if he could stay here? How much trouble could letting a small demon boy live in my room be?" Kagome fired at Inuyasha, raising her voice as she felt her adrenaline start to pump. "Don't you have _any_ heart at all?"

"Oh yeah!" The hanyou roared back, his arms falling down at his sides to ball into very strong fists. "I don't want to become a _charity castle_ to those in need! And I definitely don't need some brat wandering around my castle all the time causing trouble!" Inuyasha finished, his voice ending in a clipped bark.

Kagome stood still, her expression serene and tranquil; as she looked him over, lowering herself from her tip- toes back down onto the ground. She nodded to Inuyasha and walked right passed him towards the entrance to the castle. The hanyou spun on his heel and yelled, "What are you doing? I just said-"

Kagome turned and looked at him with an impassive, uncharacteristic face. "You don't care how he feels about it, so I don't care how you feel about it," she told him solemnly, her voice holding no emotion as she entered the castle, leaving Inuyasha to stand alone outside.

Miroku winced at the emotional blow to Inuyasha's pride as Kagome entered the castle. Like usual, the young man tried to situate himself to look like he had not been eavesdropping on the little spat that took place outdoors. Seeing Kagome walk towards him, he approached her with a rueful smile.

"Well, who is this?" he asked, his rich voice slightly mischievous. Shippo shifted uncomfortably in Kagome's arms at the prying look the young man was giving him.

"My name is Shippo," the kitsune boy replied and stopped fidgeting nervously.

"Oh, I see. I am Miroku, young Shippo," Miroku replied, nodding to the small demon. Shippo seemed to be loosening up some more in the new surroundings but he still felt rather cornered.

"Um... Kagome-sama and Miroku-sama?" Shippo asked. When both of their gazes were on him in a questioning manner, he continued. "Why does that Lord Inuyasha have a rag over his face with eye holes?"

"Well," Kagome started, not really sure how to explain the situation of the curse to one so young. It would have probably been better if he didn't know about it at all. Miroku read her frustration exactly and intervened to aid her.

"He finds them terribly comfortable. He really is an odd one," the young man told Shippo, winking at Kagome who smiled briefly. Shippo nodded, somewhat confused by the answer but then shrugged it off.

"Who is the little visitor?" came Sango's voice from down the hall as she walked towards them. All eyes were on her as she looked at Shippo strangely, observing his fox-like tail and his beautiful emerald eyes. "A little fox demon?" she asked.

"Yes, his family was murdered not too long ago I suppose. I'm going to keep him here with me until he feels comfortable enough to leave and live on his own," Kagome replied, running her fingers through the kitsune boy's silken red hair. Sango nodded in understanding but her brow knotted in confusion.

"Um... pardon me, Kagome-chan, but did Inuyasha agree to this?" she asked but seeing Kagome's hard expression at the mention of the hanyou's approval, she did not need an answer. "I see," she finished, biting her lip momentarily.

"I don't care why Inuyasha-sama says right now. This boy needs a place to stay and needs love and comfort. He was too selfish to even let him stay in my room!" Kagome told Miroku and Sango in bewilderment and irritation.

"Well, that's our Inuyasha, Kagome. He's too hardheaded for his own good," Miroku told her, patting her on the shoulder and when his hand started to travel downwards, Shippo smacked at it and growled at him. Miroku looked very surprised, not too mention startled but Sango and Kagome were on him in an instant telling him how cute he was.

"You never told me a dirty old man lived here," Shippo said, his eyes narrowed at Miroku in deep intensity. The young man shrugged and laughed nervously as he dismissed himself away from the ladies and the fox child.

"There," Kagome stated as she laid another blanket on the ground and fluffed the pillow. "How about that, Shippo-chan? Why don't you go and lay down on your small bed Sango-chan and I have made?" In compliance, the little demon boy nodded with a soft smile upon his lips and threw himself onto the small-bedded area that the two young women had made for him.

"It feels just like home with you two tucking me in for the night," Shippo said softly as he released a large yawn, his fangs showing. He stretched and found a more comfortable position on the blankets and then let out a small contented sound. Kagome and Sango got up to leave but he called to them before they went out the door.

"Yes?" Sango asked, as she and Kagome turned to look at him.

"Kagome-sama, can I call you mother?" Shippo asked sheepishly, watching as Kagome flushed a bit.

"Me? Okaa-san? What for, Shippo-chan?" The young woman asked in embarrassment.

"You took me in and helped me when I was crying... and you gave me a place to stay even though Inuyasha-sama didn't want me too," the little boy replied, smiling at her again.

"Well... I suppose so, Shippo-chan. If you want to," Kagome replied, feeling somewhat gladder that someone would think of her as a mother even though she was far from it. Well, there was now a reason to practice!

"And Sango-sama?" Shippo called for the other young woman who was in the room. "I want to call you Sango-basan," he added, snuggling deeper under the covers of his small bed as he turned the opposite direction of the door.

"Goodnight, Shippo-chan," both of the young women said as they closed the door behind them and went down the stairs.

"He wants to call me aunt," Sango laughed lightly, her cheeks flushing a little from the attention. "I think that Shippo-chan is very adorable," she added as the two young women continued to walk along. Kagome really was not very talkative at the present moment, Sango observed. "Kagome-chan? Is something bothering you?"

"Hm?" The young woman asked before her eyes went to the ground. "I just don't believe that Inuyasha-sama is so selfish that he would not let a little boy who had no family have a place to stay," Kagome groaned in remembered frustration as they stopped to converse about this more so in the kitchen.

_Hm? What's that?_ Inuyasha thought to himself as the door to the kitchen started to creak open. He swallowed the remainder of his food in a quick gulp. He sniffed the air and growled a bit when he recognized Kagome's scent and he decided to hide in the pantry. He did not want to see her. He was still royally furious still at the display of defiance and overall making a fool out of him act that she had performed just splendidly.

"I just don't believe him!" Kagome sighed, raking a hand through her raven locks as she blew a breath out of her mouth.

"Oh, he is always like this. I don't think there is a way to change him," Sango told the young woman, her voice neutral as she rolled her eyes just thinking about the cursed hanyou's mannerisms.

"But- he was just acting... so heartless! Like no one else mattered in the world... That was what bothered me," Kagome replied to Sango's comment, her voice full of shock and of pity. Inuyasha cringed in the pantry. If there was one thing that he could not stand, it was pity and it was dripping from the young woman's tone like melting ice cream. "Sango-chan, I don't think I could ever fall in love with him," Kagome added, watching as Sango whirled around to look at her. Inuyasha froze in the pantry, his eyes wide with shock.

"Whoever said you had to, Kagome-chan?" The other young woman asked, her dark eyes large and her mouth gaping open.

"I... I think that's what he needs..." Kagome replied, quenching Sango's bewilderment with that statement. "Or he needs to fall in love at least... He needs to see that it takes more than just caring about yourself to care about another person I suppose... _That_ could save him," she added, swallowing heavily as Sango's gaze was still on her. "What?" she asked, her cheeks flushing slightly. "Why are you staring at me?"

"I'm not staring at you... I'm staring at the crack in the pantry door... There is someone inside!" Sango answered her, approaching the pantry as she opened both of the doors wide. Kagome let out a mortified gasp, seeing the cursed hanyou inside.

"Lord Inuyasha!" she shrieked, her cheeks red. He had heard everything she had said. Feeling her heart leap into her throat as he came out of the pantry and started walking towards her, she went with her gut instinct and fled. She started to run towards one of the doors to the outside and opened it, rushing out into the cold, her eyes blinded briefly by the setting sun, but was stopped when she felt a large hand grasp her arm and stop her movement. She was then hurled up against a very warm, very muscular chest. She gulped and looked up to see Inuyasha, wearing that silly rag over his face, looking down upon her, his expression unreadable.

"Why are you running?" he asked her, his voice husky yet soft all together as opposed to hard and ornery like it normally was.

"Because... I am embarrassed," Kagome replied honestly, sighing a bit. Her breathing was uneven as she still was held tightly against his body, why she didn't know. There couldn't be any attraction to him, could there? Her thoughts were confirmed when the wind blew, brushing some of his soft silvery white hair against her cheek. _I am attracted to him... Damn it all!_ She thought in dismay.

"Are you embarrassed because you said you could never fall in love with me?" He asked her, his voice not allowing her to beat around the bush at all. Kagome swallowed again and tried to control the rapid beating of her heart but it wouldn't slow down or become quieter.

"Partly, yes," Kagome whispered, her eyes going up to meet his. "But frankly I think that would be more embarrassing to you than to me at any rate," she told him her lips turning up into a shy smile at the ends.

"So, I am so selfish and so horrible that it is impossible to fall in love with me, hm?" Inuyasha pressed, his voice sounding sullen and slightly depressed. He was being uncharacteristically patient also. What was going on?

"Well, I never said it was impossible, Inuyasha-sama," Kagome replied, watching as the last few rays of sun flashed against his lovely silvery white hair. But, as soon as the sun disappeared and blackness cloaked through the night, something startling happened. Inuyasha released her from his hold and stepped back, taking off the rag as some sort of magic began to take place. His glorious silver mane leaked into an inky black and his bright amber eyes darkened to a violet that was almost as lovely as Miroku's. And his face... his face... was normal!

"Inuyasha-sama?" Kagome asked meekly, looking the young man who was standing before her over. It looked like him... only... "What happened?" she asked coming closer to him to get a better look.

"I am a half demon. My human night spans on the night of the new moon," he replied, his voice now soft and calmer like a human man's, as he looked her over, his gaze gentler. Kagome nodded, understanding somewhat because back in the village she had lived in, there was a hanyou who owned a shop down the road from her house and on some nights he would walk the streets as a human.

"But... But your face," she mumbled, reaching up to touch his face, expecting him to fling himself backwards or to scream at her for her deliberation, but he leaned downward a bit so she could reach it easier. Kagome was a bit hesitant but Inuyasha nodded to her to go ahead and touch. With the permission, the young woman's hands rested on his face, stroking his cheeks softly, her face glowing a bit at the warmth and softness of his skin. There were no scars, no hideous markings, no nothing. "Why is your face... not scarred?" she asked, her hands drifting upwards into his unruly dark bangs.

"It wasn't my human night when I was cursed so I suppose I'm just normal," He replied, his violet eyes taking in her curious and slightly baffled expression as the texture of her soft fingers stroked his face and hair lightly. His human emotions hungered for her touch, for her attention, for her presence... maybe it was the curse that made him want to distance himself from her but now... now he wanted to converse with her, be with her... make her love him... He shook himself from his thoughts and returned them to the present.

_He's so handsome,_ Kagome thought as her fingers continued to meander across his strong-featured face. Kagome took the time to memorize every one of his handsome features. His violet eyes were warm as he looked at her with a gaze that she had never seen him give before, then his lids slid over his eyes, thick, lush lashes tipping the lid. His face was free of those horrible, putrid markings and scars. His lips looked soft and content instead of hard and curled back like they always went when he was angry and she noticed that his lower lip was slightly more full than the upper one. She looked up to the top of his head and missed the fluffy white dog-ears that were normally there instantly. _They're so cute!_ She thought in a pout but continued to observe him.

The more Kagome began to observe him, the more she began to realize how warm and gentle he was being with her. She stopped her ministrations and drew back, her face covered in genuine confusion. Inuyasha's eyes opened and he stared down at her, wondering why she had stopped. "What?" he asked her, his voice sounding anxious and a bit impatient, like normal but without the growling rumble that blended in his voice.

"Why are you being so kind to me? Aren't you furious with me? Aren't you upset that I defied you and am letting Shippo stay in my room even when you told me I couldn't keep him?" Kagome asked, her voice somewhat strained as she continued to eye the man who stood before her who was so similar... yet so different all the same.

"That, I was angry about..." Inuyasha told her honestly, his dark, thick eyebrows lowering over his eyes, as his voice grew more constricted with emotion. "But what you said after that... It really bothered me," he snapped at her, crossed his arms and then turned so that his back was facing her.

Kagome thought a moment, her brow scrunching in thought as she fought to remember. _What did I say? What is he talking about?_ She thought as she observed the human Lord of the Castle who was staring off into the distance. His form had grown very tense and rigid. "Inuyasha-sama? What did I say?"

"Feh," The hanyou turned human scoffed, turning so that his profile was in view and one of his violet eyes could fix on her. "Don't act like you don't remember," he finished, his voice harsh. Kagome took a step back at his voice but then stood her ground, her confusion starting to get the better of her.

"What are you talking about?" she asked with more force this time, running to his side to look into his face for an answer but he just avoided her. "Come on! That's not fair!"

"You really FORGOT?!" Inuyasha barked at her, releasing his arms and let them sprawl out to his sides in exasperation. "How could you forget saying, 'Do you have _any_ heart?' and 'You don't care how he feels about it, so I don't care how you feel about it'!" He yelled at her and shook his head, his body heading off to go back into the castle until he heard a small sniffling sound. His head whirled and he saw Kagome's hands on her face. His eyes became the size of watermelons as he began to panic. "H-hey! S-stop that!" he stuttered, not really knowing what to do.

"What I said should have bothered you..." she sniffed, wiping at her eyes. "But they were hallow... my words were hallow," she finished, looking up at him with liquidly eyes. "I knew that if I really wanted my way you would let me... I was thinking about poor Shippo..."

"I... I know that!" Inuyasha barked, fed up with all of the emotion. "STOP CRYING!" He roared at her, which only served to make her angry and more upset. "Your crying is NOT going to change the fact that you hurt my feelings earlier today so just SHUT UP!" He added angrily, mocking her.

"You JERK! YOU STUPID JERK!" She cried at him, charging at him blindly, tears flying about her face. "YOU'RE MOCKING ME!" She continued to shout as she threw punches and missed because he had caught her by the shoulders and was holding her there. Kagome started to realize that her attacks were pointless after a few moments and relaxed, her body going slack. She sighed and hung her head, her hair covering her face.

Inuyasha felt the same telltale guilt well up in his chest, only more so now because of his human night. _Great, you just made things worse_, he thought, wondering how he could get himself out of the hole he had dug for himself. He cleared his throat and decided to just be careful of what he said. "That fox brat can stay..." He told her softly, seeing her look up at him with tears rolling down her cheeks, meeting at the dip in her chin.

"Thank you for doing that for him," she replied, a soft smile appearing on her lips. Inuyasha felt his breath catch in his throat while his cheeks burned. Why did she look so damned pretty like that?

"I'm not doing it for him," He told her honestly, wondering if she understood what he was getting at. Kagome looked at him for several moments, gauging any falsehoods or any such matters and worried her lower lip between her teeth.

"Are... Are you saying that you're letting him stay for my benefit?" The young woman asked shyly, feeling her own cheeks flare to life when she noticed the color in his. Inuyasha made no response save for his eyes looking off into the distance as his cheeks blazed harder. "Inuyasha-sama..." she murmured in shock, looking up into his face.

"What?" he asked, his voice still a bit gruff, but he was embarrassed.

"I'm sorry my words hurt you earlier..." She apologized, his eyes meeting hers. The anxiety and tension left his body as his arms slid from her shoulders down to his sides in a graceful movement. "I... I was just so upset and I-"

"No, what you said was partly true... I just hate believing it," he told her, his voice barely a whisper. Kagome started to cry again, making his anxiety spring to life again. "Why the hell are you crying now? What did I _do_?" he demanded.

"It's not that..." she wheezed, rubbing at her eyes furiously. "I know you hate pity... But... I just can't help it!" she sobbed into her hands. Inuyasha watched her helplessly, not knowing what to do. "Now that I've gotten to know you better... I know you're not as bad as you first seemed..." she sniffled but continued to talk through her gasps for air. "I want to stay with you! I want... I want to love and care for you because through all of this punishment I think that is what will heal you, Inuyasha-sama," she continued to cry and unceremoniously sagged into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist as she bawled on him.

Taken aback by the sudden gesture, Inuyasha stood rigid, unable to believe what she had just said. "Will... Will you really?" he asked her, feeling hope and warmth rise in his chest. Hearing her muffled reply of yes, he pulled her close and held her, the soft fragrance of her scent reaching his human nose just barely.

"Inuyasha-sama..." she moaned as she started to calm just a little bit, her hands fisting in his robes.

"Kagome..." he whispered against her hair and pulled back to flash her a soft smile before he went inside without her, turning to look at her before he entered. "Thank you," he added and then went inside, leaving Kagome standing there alone.

_He... He just called me by my name... And he thanked me_, she thought, the redness in her cheeks consuming her face. She held her blushing face and closed her eyes trying to get a damper on it. _Kami-sama... I believe I'm starting to have a crush on him_, she was thinking when she entered the castle to go to her room.

_Writer's Corner:_

Woo! Getting hot huh? And no, Inuyasha was NOT out of character! Trust me, if he was, he would have been all LOVEY DOVEY and such. Lol. He's just in touch with his human emotions like passion, belonging, gratefulness and hope and he also realizes his mistakes and such. Kagome is lucky, no? I'd wanna be held by a HOT human Inuyasha... and a hot hanyou Inuyasha... drools

Well, that was the chapter! We're getting fluffy now for all of you who like that. Review please! Tank you!

Luv

RayJay


	7. Chapter Six

_**Chapter Six:**_

Long, sleek black locks trailed behind Inuyasha as he silently strolled down the hall to go into the study for a few moments. He was desperately sought refuge in the comfortable room because he needed to sort out his puzzling and distraught thoughts.

"Oi, Inuyasha..."

_Kagome is so beautiful..._ He pondered; an image of her face as it had been moments ago. He had turned and called her by her name and she had looked shocked and her face glowed red in the darkness. A shaky sigh escaped his lips as a warm sensation of pride crept up his neck.

"...Inuya..."

She touched my face... 

"..sha..."

_And she blushed under my gaze... and my touch..._ He continued before a deep voice caught his attention.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku said, his voice more hard as he waved his hand in front of the hanyou turned human's face. The Lord of the Castle started a bit but merely sent his old friend a glare.

"What the hell do you want?" The young man spat at Miroku, his voice impatient and anxious. He had not wanted to end his train of thought just yet. He swallowed hard as he fought the desire to blush and to tell Miroku what he was feeling... even though it would probably happen in the future anyways. _Damn these human emotions..._

"How many times must I say your name to get your attention? It was as if you were in a different world, Inuyasha," the lecherous but considerate young man with violet eyes teased, letting out a mock sound of surprise when the cursed hanyou in his human form swatted at him and missed.

"Yeah? Well, maybe I was," the hanyou fired back, crossing his arms in a stubborn way across his chest as he rumbled out a low 'feh'. He narrowed his violet eyes that were a lighter shade of violet than his good friends as the young man pined over him, gauging a reaction. "Why the hell are you starin' at me? Go bother Sango or something!" Inuyasha barked, feeling paranoid and uncomfortable. Miroku could read him like a book and he knew it.

"Even though you act this temperamental normally," The pervert began, his throat cleared and his voice wise, "I think that it is even more potent than usual. Does it have something to do with what transpired between Lady Kagome and yourself outdoors?" he finished, winking at the handsome human young man before him who was currently trapped and speechless.

"No," Inuyasha snapped lamely, unable to hide his feelings. His cheeks stained red of their own accord and he growled, his hands rising to scratch at them. "I hate being human! I hate it! You're all so damned emotional all the time!" He shouted in his own defense as some of his jet-black silk slid over his shoulders to cloak his flushed face.

Miroku chuckled earnestly and patted Inuyasha on the back in a comforting, reassuring gesture. "It's all right to express what you feel, Inuyasha. It's not a weakness," he told the embarrassed young man honestly and then drew away.

Inuyasha looked up and met Miroku's eyes and the torture and embarrassment that had been there moments before vanished. "She wants to love me, Miroku. And... Even though I told you that I would never fall in love with anyone... I..." He trailed off, not sure if he was ready to admit this to Miroku. He was unsure that he should have been telling this to his best friend when he hadn't fully admitted this to himself, but he pressed on. "I want to love her, too," he sighed and then ran a hand through his long black tresses.

"You're well on your way, Inuyasha," Miroku told him reassuringly and then laughed, leaving to go off and find Sango.

_I hope you're right,_ Inuyasha thought as his best friend disappeared from his sight.

Kagome had long since returned in doors and her heart was still fluttering from the encounter with the human turned Inuyasha. His beautiful long black hair and violet eyes were his most stunning features, aside from his strong, stubborn chin and lovely cheek planes- Kami-sama! All of him was gorgeous!

Even his voice had been kinder along with all of his characteristic features. His demeanor had been much more smooth and calm instead of brash and angry. Every thing about him was so different... and yet... still the same...

_Kagome... Thank you..._

_Oh Kami-sama... I'm going MAD!_ Kagome screamed in her mind as her face blushed an inhumane red again. Inuyasha-sama was making her crazy, what with his changed appearance and attitude! It was almost as if it was a dream! In her frustration, the young woman started to repeatedly bang her fists into her pillow as she let out small grunting sounds to get her ire out of her.

"This isn't going to work," she finally sighed aloud, feeling exasperated with herself. It was time to face the facts. She was developing feelings for the human side of Inuyasha. _Well, he IS still the same person, only a different species I suppose_, Kagome concluded, realizing that it was fickle to only accept a certain part of the Lord of the Castle.

He had been kind, gentle and warm towards her. He had even let her inside his personal bubble to touch his face and stroke his hair... Even though she was confused, Kagome was still pleased that she had been able to share such a tender moment with the mysterious, cursed Inuyasha before they had commenced the telltale arguing that had become the norm.

_But then... then he held me in his arms..._ His hug had been strong, hot and comforting; the young woman had had no desire to leave its sanctity and intimacy. _Oh Inuyasha-sama... I want you to hold me again like that,_ she thought to herself again as she sat up on her bed and ran a hand through her soft raven mane.

More embraces would come, Kagome was sure of it. _I think I am starting to finally break through Lord Inuyasha's thick and stubborn barrier that he's created around himself. And what I'm finding behind that barrier... isn't anything bad..._ The young woman sighed, flopping back onto her pillows. She closed her eyes and yawned luxuriously before she relaxed and started to think about Inuyasha again. Sleep eventually found its way to the girl as she dreamed about peaceful and happy times that she would wait for in time.

Bright, golden rays leaked through the curtains in the pretty young woman's room as the morning tried to make itself known to the sleeping spectacle it had chosen. Kagome moaned and rolled over, sneezing when her face had become buried in a soft, fine fluff that had tickled her nose. Her luminous dark eyes flitted open and her vision was blurry as she fought her eyes to focus on what had gone up her nose.

"Ohayo, Kagome-kasan," came a perky little voice that she could associate with the adorable little kitsune she had found bawling in the forest the previous day. Kagome yawned softly and rubbed at her sleepy eyes with one fist as her other hand went to pet little Shippo who was beside her now.

"When did you crawl into my bed, Shippo-chan?" she asked, another yawn invading her speaking voice. She groaned and sat up, stretching her arms before she settled her attention on the small fox that was staring up at her fondly.

"I woke up really early this morning and I came up with you because I got lonely. I used to sleep with Ma every night," Shippo replied, his voice sounding a bit sad when he mentioned his mother but Kagome instantly took his mind off of the depressing matter.

"Are you hungry?" The fox child's now surrogate mother asked cheerfully, hoping that she could distract his thoughts. Shippo nodded eagerly and dropped the topic all together. The young woman sighed internally and was glad that he didn't dwell on the unhappy things. "Well then, let's go and get some breakfast. I'm starving," Kagome told him and giggled when Shippo leapt off the bed towards the door with enhanced speed.

Miroku sat silently, his gaze focused on an immobile woman who was still sound asleep in her bed. The crack in the door allowed him just enough to see the outline of her hip and her side as she continued to dose. _It must have been a hard night for her,_ he mused, deciding that he would wake her up gently.

He entered the room cautiously and sat beside her on the bed and parted some stray skeins of her long ebony hair out of her face. Sango moaned in response to the soft touch and leaned towards his warmth, completely oblivious to her actions. The young man sighed, his eyes drinking in her serene loveliness and peacefulness as she continued to dream on.

"Sango," he whispered, leaning down to place a soft kiss on her forehead. His lips brushed gently against her temple and at the sweet gesture, dark eyes opened hazily. Sango stared at Miroku, wondering what he was doing in her room and why he was staring at her with such adoration.

"Miroku?" She whispered, her soft and groggy voice filled with confusion. "Why are you in here?"

"I wanted a better view," he replied, his tones just as soft as hers as he leaned down and claimed her lips in a sweet kiss, unable to contain himself anymore. The young woman beneath him gasped and fought him for a moment before she found herself surrendering to the wonderful feeling of his mouth. Sango moaned in sheer bliss as Miroku began to deepen the kiss and her arms found their way around his neck.

"No... I..." she panted, unable to form a coherent thought, wanting to break away, knowing that this was wrong, that he was doing this for the wrong reasons. "Oh Miroku," she sighed and returned his fervor with fueled passion of her own that extended from deep within her heart.

"Sango... You are marvelous," he groaned as his legs crept onto the bed and his body became a cage on top of her, his hand crawling down her torso. The young woman froze at the contact and was immediately turned off. She stopped and growled in anger and frustration as she pushed him away and pulled up her blankets. Miroku looked as confused and derived as ever when she fixed him a look of murder and hurt.

"Is that all you want from me?" Sango demanded, her voice slightly thick with restrained desire and emotion. "Am I just a woman in this castle who will spread her legs for you whenever you feel the urge to be a man? How dare you take advantage of my heart, Miroku," she snapped, a tear sliding down her cheek but she wiped it away.

"Sango... You-"The young man began to say but the woman who was desperately in love with him would hear none of it.

"No. Do _not_ say it. I cannot fight you when you use such reckless passion to drag me in... But..." she trailed and off worried her lip between her teeth for a moment before she tried to explain her endeavor. "I do not want to sleep with you unless I know you love me, Miroku. Unless you really and truly love me. I do not want you to 'pledge' your undying love for me, if I will only find you running off with another woman who comes into your life," she finished, crossing her arms over her body to try and protect herself from his intense gaze.

"Sango... I do love you," Miroku replied, his voice as slick and as smooth as silk but he did not mean the words to the full extent that the young woman wished they would be. Sango merely shook her head.

"Please leave my room," she ordered, her voice now sullen and emotionless. Her darkened, lustful eyes returned to their normal shade of black/brown and he could have sworn that they were tinted with disappointment. Seeing how upset and distraught Sango was at the moment, Miroku decided that it probably would be for the best if he took his leave.

"I will Sango," The young man stated. As he stood up and adjusted his clothing, he sent her a solemn, and slightly depressed look. At his visage, Sango ###### her head to the side, wondering what he was still doing in the room and grew slightly impatient.

_What do I say? I know that I love her... but faithfulness has never been a strong suit,_ the young man thought worriedly before he shook himself from his thoughts. He bowed to the young woman and exited her room, feeling more like a potent jerk and a stingy bastard than ever before. _I seem to always disrespect her feelings_, Miroku told himself in his mind as he calculated her emotions and actions from the liberty from her lips that he had taken.

Sighing, the young man massaged his temples with his hands, trying to ease the guilt and anxiety that were rising in his chest as he continued to ponder on. _Perhaps I should consult Lady Kagome on this matter. She and Sango seem to have... 'Girl talk' a lot..._ He was brought back down to earth, however, when he nearly plowed into Kagome and Shippo who were on their way to the kitchen. _Well, what do you know?_

"Miroku-sama, good morning," Kagome said to him cheerfully but her happy gaze turned into a slightly concerned look. "Is there something wrong?" she asked, adjusting Shippo in her arms.

"He looks kinda sad, Kaasan," the kitsune inquired, leaping from the young woman's arms up onto Miroku's shoulder.

"Well, I did want to have a word with you, Kagome, but I see now is not the appropriate time," the young man replied with a soft smile and chuckle as he reached up to pat the little fox boy on the head. He turned so that his eyes were scanning over Shippo who was perched comfortably on his shoulder. "So you view Kagome as your mother now. How fitting," he stated in amusement as he shot his gaze to the young woman who was blushing slightly. "One needs practice in order to be a good mother," he added with wit deep in his tones.

"Yep, and I think she's doing an ok job, Miroku-sama," Shippo chimed in. A low growl emitted from the fox child's stomach and it was now his turn to flush red.

"Oh! That's right! We were just on our way to get breakfast. Want to come along, Miroku-sama?" Kagome asked, reaching out to pick Shippo up again and cradle him in her arms.

"Why not?" Miroku answered shaking his head with a sly smile on his face. _My morning couldn't possibly get any worse..._ he thought before Kagome called to someone down the hall. He turned and followed the direction that the guest in the castle was facing and he cringed and whirled around so he could look elsewhere when he saw the beautiful, feminine figure that was halted there. _I was wrong... It is now MUCH worse..._ he swallowed and broke into a sweat, feeling like a coward. _She still looks angry with me..._

"Ohayo, Sango-chan! Did you sleep all right last night?" Kagome asked, completely oblivious to the small 'lover's spat' that had occurred a short time before Miroku had nearly bumped into her. Kagome percepted the tension between the two individuals when Sango did not reply to her perky, caring question; the woman's dark eyes were shooting hell pistols in Miroku's general direction. Kagome decided to try and change the subject and keep them separated. It was quite obvious that Sango still needed to cool off from whatever had happened.

Shippo looked between Miroku and Sango for a few moments, puzzled beyond all reason. He could detect a salty, tear smell off of Sango-basan along with deep-rooted anger and other mixed emotions that he didn't know. Being a little kid did often bend the perception of things in scents (especially when a child doesn't know what sex or mating is or what lust is). Realizing that he should probably start sharing his observations with his Kaa-san, he stretched his body up so he could reach her ear. "Okaa-san, Sango-basan smells like she's been crying and Miroku-sama smells ashamed."

"Yes, Shippo-chan," Kagome replied just as softly. "Don't worry. I'll find out what is going on here and I will put it to rights."

"Kagome-chan, I would like to speak with you now, if it's not an inconvenience to you," Sango called, her voice somewhat composed but she still seemed righteously furious.

_I definitely need to find out what is going on here. I'm getting goose bumps from the looks that Sango is throwing at Miroku..._ Doing just that... or finding a temporary solution to the problem, the young woman who was new in the castle, tugged on Miroku's sleeve and started to drag him in the general direction of the kitchen. "We were just going to go and get some breakfast, Sango-chan. Can we talk later, please?"

"Very well. I will be in the bath house," the young woman who was looking rather depressed replied before she spun on her heel and stomped off. Kagome's eyebrows disappeared underneath her raven bangs at her friend's grouchiness and uncharacteristic impatience. She regarded Miroku with narrowed eyes, her mouth set in a determined, slightly stubborn line. "What did you do?" she asked him evenly, watching as he raised his hands in mock defense.

"Must we really discuss it here? After all, there is a child present," The young man stuttered, laughing a bit nervously. "Suddenly I don't want to accompany the both of you to the kitchen..."

"You're lucky that Shippo is here, Miroku-sama, or else..." Kagome trailed off, looking a bit malicious for a moment before she let out a charming and carefree giggle. "I'm just kidding. Once I get Shippo some food we'll discuss it, ok?"

"All right. I'll be in the study," the young man sighed, raking a hand through his hair in frustration as he opened one of the double doors to the study and library and went inside. Kagome worried her lower lip between her teeth as she entered the kitchen with Shippo, her thoughts elsewhere.

_There is so much drama in this castle. Miroku and Sango help to cause most of it... but I must admit that Inuyasha-sama and myself are a very large part of it as well,_ she let out an exasperated breath.

"Kagome-kasan? Are you ok?" Shippo asked his surrogate mother, hearing her fretful sigh and sensing the spike in her emotions.

"Oh, I am fine, Shippo-chan, it's just that there is so much going on in this castle. I have only lived here for a little bit more than three days and it all ready feels like I have been with them forever..." Kagome replied, deciding to elaborate more when Shippo's confusion showed through the narrowing of his eyes and the wrinkling of his little nose. "It's... They're... um... more grown up things... I can't really explain it better than that," she told him furthermore, hoping that he would not ask any more questions.

"Um... ok," the kitsune replied, sensing the slight tension from the young woman who was holding him. "Can we eat now? I'm hungry..."

"Sure," Kagome replied and started to busy herself with preparing the fox boy's food.

_That's just about all the noise that I'm going to take_, Inuyasha grumbled to himself. He had heard everything that had gone on in the hall from Kagome greeting Miroku to the small mini-fight that happened between the two tense individuals named Sango and Miroku. Feeling slightly antsy, he decided that he would stretch his legs a bit and go on a quick run around the grounds.

He exited his room, pulling the rag that he used as a substitute mask over his head, and trekked down the dark corridor and sniffed the air, finding Miroku's masculine scent emerging from the study. He sighed, wondering why the young man was spending so much time in there as of late. He looked down the hall perpendicular to the one that he was stationed in, noting that Sango had been there a short time ago and had stomped off to the bathhouse. And Kagome... Kagome and the fox brat had gone off to the kitchen...

_Damn it... If only she were alone,_ he thought, mentally booting himself upside the head. _Why the hell would I want to be alone with her?_ He questioned himself, knowing the answer. He groaned. This was inevitable. And he was being an immature fool and not facing his feelings.

_What do I do?_ He raged inwardly. Suddenly, an uncharacteristic idea slapped against him like a wet, wriggling fish. He swallowed, unsure if what he was thinking was a good idea to execute or not. He growled and smacked his hand against his forehead and took in a deep inhale of breath, forcing his chest to bust out. _I will not hide in the shadows any longer. If I'm to get Kagome used to my presence... I have to spend time with her..._ He thought in dismissal and began his walk to the kitchen.

"Slow down Shippo-chan or you'll get some food down your wind pipe," Kagome giggled as she ran her fingers through the kitsune's silky, fiery red hair. The little demon boy only grunted lightly in compliance and did slow his pace but was still eating with a vigor that the young woman was pleased to see. This side of the happy, carefree little youkai was an improvement from the devastated and horrified condition that he had been in the day previous.

Kagome sighed, her eyes drifting to the rafters in the floor above her. She began to ponder the occurrence that had happened between Sango and Miroku, trying to come up with possible answers until her attention was distracted by the opening of the kitchen door. She turned to see Inuyasha standing stiffly with the rag draped over his face. A blush came to her cheeks when she thought of the interaction that she had had with him the night before but quickly squashed it down when he started to draw nearer.

Shippo had long dropped the food that he had been wolfing down and had taken refuge in the young woman's arms, his form trembling slightly from fear. He dug his face into Kagome's chest and felt her arms come around him in a reassuring manner as she patted his back softly.

The vibrating kit in Kagome's arms averted Inuyasha's gaze and he sighed, in guilty conscience, to spite himself. He scratched one of his ears for lack of anything to do as he felt the anxiety flood through his chest again. _And I worked up the gull to come here to..._ He thought angrily before his amber eyes shot to Kagome's shy, serene face.

"Good morning, Inuyasha-sama. Did you come in here for breakfast?" She asked him, seeing how goaded he was looking. _He doesn't have to be so nervous around me. I'm not going to bite him... I should be thinking fearful things of him, not the other way around,_ the young woman told herself, feeling slightly at a loss. She was hoping his demeanor would have been a bit more relaxed because it helped her to keep her composure as well. _And he's wearing that dirty, old rag too. He must really be feeling uncomfortable_, she finished, shifting Shippo in her arms.

Inuyasha's mouth went dry for a moment before he cleared his throat, feeling an answer come to him as he moistened his lips with his tongue. "No, I..." he started, realizing how foolish and bashful he was sounding. He cleared his throat and started again. "I want you to do something with me. I want us to walk or go in the garden," he told her flatly, seeing that the only way he was going to be able to express his idea was through a command or order. Kagome looked a bit shocked and slightly offended at his brisk and brittle tone he was using but shrugged it off.

"Um, all right. When?" The young woman questioned him. Shippo had stopped shivering in her arms and was now staring in wonder and intent upon the Lord of the castle.

"Now," He spat at her and turned to go. "We're leaving," he added, gesturing to the door. Kagome followed him a few steps but then faltered and realized that she had other things to deal with first.

"Inuyasha-sama, can we plan something later on? I have a few matters I need to take care of now," Kagome told him in a calm voice, hoping that he would understand. He was, after all, asking her on such short notice. Unfortunately, she had forgotten that he wasn't very understanding _or_ patient...

The hanyou Prince whirled around and looked at her crossly for a moment. "What do you mean, 'other matters'. You're coming with me. You said you would," He pressed, slamming his arms over his strong chest defiantly.

"I never said I would. I merely asked you when, Lord Inuyasha," Kagome fired back, her temper rising to the occasion. "Anyways. At the current time, now that Shippo has finished eating, I'm going to the bathhouse where Sango-chan is waiting to talk to me and then I will find Miroku-sama and speak with him," she informed him in a perturbed voice.

Letting out a spoiled and rather exasperated sound, Inuyasha realized that yet again that he had caused another argument and that he could not force Kagome to do what he wanted. He clenched his teeth and dropped his arms to his sides, his hands balling into fists in his fury. "Very well," he forced out, his voice blazing with intense malice. "Forget about it," he barked over his shoulder as he slammed the door to the kitchen closed with a sound 'BANG'.

Shippo flinched and shook his head. "He's cranky, Kagome-kasan. Why do you talk to him?" the little boy asked her as they exited the kitchen. The young woman sighed and hung her head in defeat, feeling very disappointed. _He hasn't changed. I thought that he would still have been as sweet and understanding as last night... But I was wrong,_ she thought as a tear slid down her cheek.

"Shippo-chan, go and keep Miroku-sama company in the study. I am going to the bathhouse," she told him, her voice thick with her emotion as she suppressed her tears of frustration. Smelling the sickly salt that was filling in Kagome's chocolate eyes, Shippo nodded obediently and trotted off to the study like she had asked him.

As she walked to the bathhouse, the young woman couldn't hold back her tears anymore. Her hand rose to her mouth to muffle her soft wails as thick, large tears splashed down her ruddy cheeks. From his room, Inuyasha's eyes softened and his heart contracted with every sob that she let forth as she leaned against the door, his head dropping in regret.

"Oh! Kagome-chan!" Sango exclaimed as she saw her good friend enter the bathhouse. She noticed the trudge in the young woman's step and the puffiness of her eyes as she walked closer and her brow scrunched together in thought. "What is it?" she asked as Kagome slid out of her clothes and into the water.

"It's nothing. It is just pent up frustration," the guest in the castle replied, splashing some of the warm water on her face, sighing as she did so. "I really needed this," she added, sagging against the side of the tub. Silence lapsed between the two young women as they soaked in the depths of the soothing water, neither saying anything for a time before Kagome had to know what had happened earlier.

"Sango-chan?" Kagome asked, her eyes shifting to her friend was wiggling her toes outside of the water.

"Hm?"

"You love Miroku-sama, don't you?" she questioned, hoping that her question wasn't too forward. Sango's cheeks flushed but she nodded bashfully, a slightly depressed look hovering onto her lovely face. "I'm sure he loves you too," she added but continued by saying, "so what seems to be the problem?"

"He loves my body, Kagome. Not me," Sango sighed, leaning her head back as she closed her eyes. She tilted her head up again to see Kagome looking a bit puzzled and decided to tell her more. "When he looks into my eyes, I see passion, lust, adoration... but not love or respect. He sees my breasts and my womanhood... and that is all. I know it is all for when he kisses me... I... I know it is practiced and his emotions are not sincere," Sango finished, her eyes softening and becoming very melancholy.

"Sango-chan..." Kagome whispered, not knowing what else to say. What could you say to a friend who was hopelessly in love with a good man who did not have the right intentions towards her.

"If he beds me once, he will believe he owns me and then he will spend his lust and desires on me until he cannot breath. I know this... and then... he will find another woman and-"The young woman trailed off, with tears in her eyes. She wiped them before they could leave her eyes and she bit down ####### her lower lip. "I'm sorry Kagome-chan... I'm so afraid that another woman will come and he will be unfaithful... I would die... I want to be respected, Kagome-chan. I want him to be loyal and true to me and me only..." she broke off in a sob and buried her face in her hands.

Kagome waded over to her best friend and encircled her arms around her and held her friend close, empathizing with Sango's situation. "Sango-chan... I would feel the same way if I were you. I would want a man's respect also," she thought, an image of Inuyasha glaring at her forming her mind but she dashed it away. "I do not know what else I can do for you but speak to Miroku-sama about his actions." Sango's face lifted from her hands in horror.

"No! Oh please, no Kagome-chan! You needn't get involve in this-"She started to splutter in embarrassment and needless worry but the other young woman pressed a warm hand to her lips, ceasing the flow of words.

"Sango-chan, I will not be going anywhere for a great while. I will speak to Miroku-sama and if he does not at least try to be a better man for your sake, then he does not deserve you," Kagome finished, a soft smile coming to her lips. Sango let out a sigh and sniffled, leaning her head on Kagome's shoulder.

"I hope you are right," the depressed young woman, who was feeling more comforted now that Kagome had spoken with her, breathed and closed her eyes for a few moments, reveling in the safeness of her good's friends arms.

"She... She said that?" Miroku asked, his face white as he raked a hand through his hair. "I know she thinks I am an unfaithful lecher and that she cares for me but..." he sighed and shook his head, resting his head in his hands, feeling guilt swarming around in his insides.

"Miroku-sama," Kagome told him gently, patting him on the back. "She loves you and I am sure that you care a very great deal about her."

"Yes, she is a good woman," he told the young woman honestly, raising his head so that he could look into her face. "Almost too good. I... She is out of my standards... Why I believe that I can give her what she needs, I don't know..."

"You can give her what she needs, Miroku-sama, even if it takes a little changing on your part," Kagome told him, giggling a little bit. "For instance. You could respect her behind and her chest regions for starters. And, you could start forming a solid friendship with her rather than a relationship that is based on carnal desires," she added, seeing a spark of hope shine in his eyes.

"I... I never thought of it that way before," The young man told Kagome, sitting up now. "And... I could earn her trust as well, couldn't I..." He continued, thinking aloud, stroking his chin. Kagome clapped and let out a happy sound.

"See? It's not so hard is it?" She asked him as she stood up and straightened her clothes a bit.

"Hm... Perhaps I should go think of some common topics on which I should converse with her about. Would weather be a good choice?" He asked her, standing as well, taking her hands as they started to leap up and down a little bit.

"Whatever you think would work, Miroku-sama," Kagome replied, and let go of his hands and spun around, flopping onto a sofa in dizziness. She looked up to see the young man over her smiling.

"Thank you, Kagome-sama. You have done so much for me all ready," Miroku told her, mirth and good humor in his voice. "Farewell, I have some business to attend to now," he told her and started to stroll towards the exit of the study.

"Oh, and Miroku-sama," Kagome added, watching as he turned for a moment. "Keep it original and keep it not-lecherous," she finished, laughing at him when he let out a sarcastic sigh and claimed she was taking all the fun out of the whole 'conversational friendship' time.

As Miroku left the study, Kagome felt somewhat lighter at heart. _I am available now... maybe I should go and see Inuyasha-sama since he said that he wanted to do something,_ she thought as she left the study as well and looked around for Shippo. She called his name, wondering where he could have gone because she had placed him out in the hall. She started to search the castle but had no avail at all. _Is he outside?_ She wondered, and started to go towards the door to the outside.

Inuyasha's heart began to pulse in his chest as he felt something animalistic rise from his gut. He needed to take his serum and he needed to get to it quick. Feeling his face start to burn, he pulled his door open swiftly as his vision started to blur red. He blinked and his site returned to normal but he lengthened his strides to get to the outside.

"Shippo-chan?" Kagome called, searching around until she had found him. Feeling relief for a brief moment, she jogged lightly over to where her surrogate son was sitting on a small pedestal, holding something tubular in his hand. Her eyes widened when she realized what it was. "Shippo-chan! Put that back! What are you doing?" she exclaimed, trying to grab the vial from the child's hand but he evaded.

"But it's a pretty container, Kaa-san. Can I keep it?" the kit asked before he was startled by a figure that was slightly hunched over landing directly behind Kagome. The young woman gasped and stumbled forward a step before she turned to see Inuyasha growling behind her.

"What the hell are you doing with that?" he demanded, his eyes bleeding crimson. Kagome's breath quickened as she turned to Shippo and was about to ask for the vial but her action was stopped when the Lord of the castle bounded towards the fox boy. Being exceedingly frightened of Inuyasha and at the speed of which he was advancing towards him, in his haste, Shippo dropped the vial and it plummeted towards the ground.

Down and down the tube fell, almost in slow motion as Kagome perceived it. She winced when the tube shattered against the cement bottom of the pedestal that it had been seated on and wanted to hide when Inuyasha's face was aghast and completely and utterly **furious!**

Feeling his demon blood course through his veins at a quicker pace, Inuyasha lost all control and whipped his arm around, smashing the pedestal into pieces. He felt a trickle of blood dripping from some cuts that he had gotten from his sudden, rash action but ignored them as he advanced towards the cowering fox child. That brat had gotten in his way many times and this time... This time Inuyasha wasn't going to let him _LIVE!_

"I'm going to KILL you!" The hanyou who was rapidly transforming roared, ripping the cloth that shielded the now burning scars on his visage, revealing his putrid mass of face. Shippo let out a cry of sheer terror and was too frightened to move as Inuyasha stalked towards him, drooling, his eyes filled with bloodlust.

Kagome, terrified as well, leapt on top of Shippo just as Inuyasha had swung his arm to strike the kitsune boy. The hanyou, who was raging, had managed to stop himself but let out a roar of fury as he pierced the ground beside her. "Stop, Inuyasha!" she cried, hoping that he could hear her.

"He... He destroyed my SERUM!" The angry beast barked, snarling and baring his fangs towards her. Kagome cowered back but realized that his sanity was still in tact.

"He's only a child! He didn't know!" she cried, leaping to Shippo's defense, hoping to gather Inuyasha's scattered rationale. It did not work like she'd hoped for he jumped over her and tried to attack Shippo before she could whirl around. Kagome threw herself over Shippo again and Inuyasha could not stop the blow this time. His sharp claws tore through the flesh of her left shoulder and she screamed in pain, crumpling in a heap at his feet.

"KAGOME-KASAN!" Shippo wailed, not knowing what to do as his surrogate mother's blood flowed from her shoulder.

Inuyasha perceived Kagome's distressed and agonizing cry and he felt warm, fresh blood on his claws. _What is going on? What's happening?_ He wondered, his thoughts becoming fuzzy as he sniffed his claws, retracting in a realization at what he had just done. _Why do I recognize this flesh and blood and why do I feel... like I hate myself for being smothered in it?_

"Inuyasha!" Miroku cried, bursting out the door to see the awful site of a transformed and out of control Inuyasha and a bleed Kagome. "Oh no... I'm too late! SANGO!" The young man roared, hoping that she could hear him as he went and tried to restrain the beast that was currently at war with himself.

Kagome bit back her sobs as she felt uncontrollable fear build inside her as her blood ran down her shoulder and over her chest. She clasped her hand to the wound and stared in horror at the beast that had been Inuyasha. He had struck her... and she was bleeding terribly because of it. She wanted to vomit at the smell of her coppery blood but found that she could not.

_I'm so frightened and I can't control it... I have to get away from him!_ The young woman thought, tears flooding down her cheeks. She had been frightened when she had seen his first transformation... but now her thoughts were confirmed. _I know I said I wouldn't leave... but I have to now! I can't stay here! I'm too scared! I want to go home!_ She let out a wail and leapt up from the ground, her hand still clutching her bleeding shoulder as she ran into the forest that was across the field. Shippo went to follow her but instinct told him that he couldn't follow her.

"KAGOME!" Miroku roared after her, feeling helpless as he watched her go. _This was all too much for her..._ he thought, shaking his. Sango rushed out the door and saw Kagome's retreating form in the distance.

"KAGOME-CHAN!" Sango shrieked after her best and started to tear after her but Miroku told her to stop. "Why? What do you mean? She could be killed out there!" she exclaimed, anger and worry evident in her voice.

"Help me knock him out for a moment!" Miroku snapped towards Sango in temperance as he fought to strangle the hanyou a bit. Inuyasha wheezed and clawed at the air as his oxygen was slowly released from his lungs and he sagged in a heap on the ground. "Shippo," the young man barked down to the kitsune. "Is there any of the serum left? Can we salvage ANY of it?" he demanded, watching as the demon child jumped at his brisk tone.

Shippo crawled to where the vial had shattered and he nodded. "The whole bottle wasn't broken. There's still some left!" he answered quickly, handing the last inch of the vial bottom that held about seven or eight drops collected in the bottom, minding the jagged top. Miroku snatched it from the child's grasp and dumped the last of the elixir down the unconscious Inuyasha's throat and began to see some of it take effect. The hanyou's claws shrunk slightly but where still elongated and his breathing grew more regular.

"That should be enough to keep him partially sane until tomorrow," Miroku said to Sango who was still looking worriedly towards the forest that Kagome had disappeared into. Miroku then started to rouse Inuyasha whose eyes flitted open. They were a mix of amber and red but they seemed to perceive things clearly.

Inuyasha's nose twitched when he smelled Kagome's blood on his claws and he gasped, his body whirling around when he found that her scent was trailing into the forest. He gulped, leapt up and took off, trailing her scent, feeling guilt in his chest as he fought past the animalistic rushes he was still having.

"I don't think she will return here," Miroku told Sango, his voice quiet. Sango bowed her head and shook it remorsefully. "It would probably be best if she did not return. She will only find that Inuyasha is incapable of opening up to her or caring about her..." he finished, rubbing his hands together nervously. Shippo crawled over and started to cry in Sango's lap and she patted his back softly.

"No, Miroku..." Sango told him, her eyes meeting his. "If he is incapable of caring about her... then why has he gone after her?" she asked him, seeing that he could not reply. "She is starting to soften him and I don't believe he really minds," she added, sighing as she pulled Shippo into her arms.

Shivering from blood loss, Kagome continued to run on until knees buckled beneath her and she rolled to a stop on the cold ground. She couldn't stop the tears of fear and anguish but she did pause for a moment when she heard rustling and whispering in the bushes. _Oh no... Youkai!_ She thought fretfully as she tried to get up but found she didn't have the strength or the will power at the present moment.

Out from the bushes, a blur leapt out and landed before her with a divine grace. Kagome let out a mute sound of surprise as she looked up to see a man as tall as Inuyasha standing before her with eyes of cerulean and a dark bushy tail protruding from his hindquarters. "Well, well, well," he chuckled, his voice husky and deep with amusement. "What a delectable woman we have here," He bent down and got a closer look at her, and reached out to touch her shoulder but she cried out and struggled to move away from him.

"Oh! She's feisty, Koga! How are you going to eat'er?" Another voice chimed in as a second youkai leapt from the bushes, his eyes settling on her hungrily. The man, who was kneeling before her, 'Koga', scoffed and stood again.

"I'm not gonna eat her, you idiot. She's not fat enough," Koga spat at the other youkai and Kagome squirmed in embarrassment and pain. Their eyes were distracted towards her and they knelt down near her again. "And look at her... Her face is too pretty to eat, don't you think?"

"Well..." the youkai named Koga's companion shrugged and nodded after a short time. "I still think that we should eat'er but if you're gonna stare at her-"

Kagome let out a groan as she tried to sit up but then collapsed again as her hand fell from her shoulder and fell to the ground. She started to again weep in pain and clutched the grass with her free hand. Koga and his friend's eyes widened as they realized that the tiny human woman before them was crying.

"K-Koga? W-what do we do now? She's... bawling!" The youkai exclaimed as she struggled back a few steps. "We should go... Yes! Let's go, Koga!"

"What're you talkin' about? She needs to be taken care of. She'll come with us," Koga decided and went to pick Kagome up. She was about to protest and start to scream in an obnoxious manner when the two youkai were startled by a figure who appeared.

"Put her down," the voice commanded and Kagome was both relieved and feeling frightened at hearing it. Inuyasha had come. She turned her head to the best of her ability, her vision now slightly hazy as she looked up to see him standing there, looking not pleased.

"Who the hell are you?" Koga demanded, looking to see that his comrade was getting ready to flee.

"That... That's the cursed prince, Koga! The one that transforms!" The youkai stuttered as he cried and broke off in a run, following his instincts. Koga soon realized what his friend was telling him about and followed in suit, not taking a second glance backwards.

Inuyasha growled after the two fleeing wolf youkai and knelt down next to Kagome, feeling awful and guiltier than he had ever felt before. "Kagome..." he said softly, his voice humble and weak.

Kagome trembled at the sound of his voice and turned her face away so that she couldn't look at him. _Please leave me alone_, she thought as she stifled a sob. She heard the hanyou sigh and heard the rustle of leaves next to her. She decided that she would spare a look at Inuyasha and saw that his face was deeply sullen and emotional, through all of the scars. And... for a moment, she saw through the scars... almost like they were not there. She saw a young man who was deeply sorry for what he had done. He had come to save her from the dangers of the forest after she had run away to be through with him and the curse.

"Kagome... I... I'm sorry..." he rasped, and closed his eyes. He stood and sighed deeply, and it sounded like it was coming from the depths of his being. He opened his deep amber eyes and the young woman saw remorse and deep feeling in his eyes. He meant every word. "You don't have to keep your promise... not anymore..." he finished, and with a heavy heart, turned to leave, knowing that Kagome was probably the best thing that had ever happened to him, even if she did not care about him.

Kagome's tears came to a stop as she saw him trudge away and the fear that she had been holding left her. He was truly regretful and... he was being understanding. _And you are letting me go?_ She asked herself, feeling slightly confused yet... carefree all the same. "I... Inuyasha," she called after him, her voice small from the pain in her shoulder. "I... I want to..." she told him as he came closer. "Take me back home..."

"Your home?" he asked, his voice deeply emotional as he bent to pick her up. He should have expected this, he lifted her cradle style into his arms, holding her gently against his body, minding her shoulder as she began to walk the opposite way from which he had come.

Kagome could not see much from the blurriness of her vision but she knew that Inuyasha was not going back to the castle. "Inuyasha," she slurred, trying to look into his face. "Aren't you going the wrong way?"

"No, there's a human village a hundred miles this way," he told her curtly, his voice ornery.

"I didn't say I wanted to go to the village. I said I wanted to go home... to the castle," she told him, her voice tired as she sent him a weak smile. Inuyasha's heart thundered in his chest at her kind look and at the amazing words she had spoken, as he could not fight the blush that crawled up his cheeks. With a tentative hand, Kagome reached up and stroked the cursed hanyou's face, being gentle about the scars, feeling him pull away in slight discomfort.

"Doesn't it... frighten you?" He asked her as he started to make his way back to the castle in a gentle trip so he wouldn't disturb her shoulder.

"Does what frighten me?" Kagome asked hazily, as she continued to touch his face softly, realizing that the texture of his face, even with the scars, was rather soft and warm.

"My face... the scars," he elaborated, pulling her tighter against his chest, liking the feeling of her soft body against his own, as he concentrated on giving a comfortable ride back to the castle.

"No..." she answered him, her hand falling into lap as she felt very weak and tired as blackness started to consume her vision. "I don't see the scars... anymore..." she added before unconsciousness took hold over her.

_Writer's Corner:_

I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry about the late update! I'm have been extremely busy and here is my schedule.

**Monday-Friday**: school and then Marching band and then homework. Blech!

**Saturday:** Competition day for Marching Band and it's ALL DAY!

**Sunday:** Volleyball camp! WOOOO! That's how it's going to be for another ten weeks too, folks!

So, what I've decided is, I'm going to make my chapters exceedingly longer because I can't update as often. Expect a chapter every 2 or 3 weeks at the least. See, this chapter right here, is for the record, the longest chapter I have ever written, scoring at 18 ½ pages and containing 8,461 words. Yes. I worked hard guys! And I apologize about my late updatences (Ha! I invented a new word!). I will make these chapters worthwhile so wait patiently and if you want, you can email me to see how the chapter status is coming in completion.

Thank you and review like always!

Luv

RayJay


	8. Chapter Seven

_Writer's Corner:_

Whew! I haven't had one of these in a while! I'd just like to make some shout outs to some of my lovely readers (there will be different ones every chapter. Don't worry! I'll get all of you in, I promise! Even if I have to check mark you all! Lol ;)

To Katra, Kelsey, Brittany, Angela, Amee and their friend who wrote the review (Sorry darling! You didn't leave your name! What is it?)- Thank you gurlz for the support! It means a lot and Inuyasha is very hot in almost all forms. In his full demon form, I'll have to admit he does have that dangerous edge to him...

To Faye-Faye: Thanks for everything, gurl. You are my little devoted reader ;)

WARNING: _This chapter contains some lime_

_**Chapter Seven:**_

"He's coming, Miroku!" Sango called to the young man who was sitting on the cold, stone steps in front of the entrance to the castle; his eyes hazed and unfocused. Violet orbs lifted briefly to catch a glance at the harsh demon lord of the castle, expecting to see him alone and sullen... but it was not so.

"She... She is in his arms," Miroku muttered, beginning to stand. His eyes were rounded in disbelief as he attempted to rouse the sleeping fox child who was lying next to him. Shippo, however, was refusing to be bothered for he made no movement, save for the slight twitching motion in his small, pointed nose. Miroku shook his head as he stood all the way up and took his place by Sango, gazing at her intently for a few moments before his glance returned to the distance where Inuyasha was carrying back the wounded young woman.

Sango's eyes shifted towards the handsome man standing beside her for a few seconds before she gasped and turned her head the opposite way when he captured her eyes. An unruly red crawled up her cheeks as she cleared her throat, attempting to find something relevant and wise to say about Kagome and Inuyasha. She only found herself trapped in unending confusion with Miroku's well-behaved hands. _He hasn't touched me in hours... Is he ill?_ She wondered, scratching her arm in slight discomfort.

"Kagome spoke with me," the stoic looking young man beside her stated, his attention focused on the hanyou carrying a woman in the distance. Sango swallowed and nodded briefly, pushing a stray strand of her ebony hair out of her eyes. "About how... how you feel about things..."

"Did she?" she asked, for lack of anything else to say, giving him the confidence though, to continue speaking. She licked her lips, finding that they had suddenly become very dry as he began talking again, his rich, deep voice entrancing her with its serious tone.

"Yes... And," he paused for a moment, whirling to snag her hand in his own and hold it to his chest, catching her completely off guard. "I realize that I have not been fair to you," he finished, his teasing eyes now serious and sincere. "I have been acting like a simple fool, Sango, and have been stepping all over your feelings and I will do it no more," he added strongly, raising her hand to his lips and brushed them across for a split second before he looked up at her and whispered, "You have my word."

His hot breath brushed across her chilled hand, warming it instantly. "Miroku..." Sango whispered, taken aback by his sudden sincerity and overall charismatic performance. She smiled softly at him for a moment, realizing that she didn't have anything to say in return. She did laugh quietly however as she drew her hand back.

"Are you two done yet?" A brisk voice demanded, making the two of them jump at the added presence. They whirled in unison to see Inuyasha, hunched slightly, holding Kagome to his body as if she were a sacred and beloved item. "You have to clean her up," he added, his voice now emotionless and hollow as he trudged into the castle, kicking the door out of the way.

The two humans exchanged puzzled glances before they shrugged and jogged into the castle, Sango scooping up Shippo before she returned inside.

Rich, soothing warmth beat on Kagome's cheeks as her eyes fluttered open and then closed, her shoulder containing the dull ache that had come from her wound earlier. She yawned and shifted slightly, searching for warmth underneath the blanket that had been draped over her and the hot, solidness of the object next to her. She felt the figure next to her grow still and tense and her eyes shot open to look into a red haori and black hakama.

"Watch where you're cuddling," came Inuyasha's voice as it vibrated out of his diaphragm and into Kagome's ear due to the extra close proximity to his body. The young woman gazed up at the face of the hanyou who was lying beside her and then decided that she would increase the distance between them so she wouldn't kindle his wrath accidentally.

"Sorry," she mumbled softly, a bit disappointed in truth. _He's really warm_, she thought in slight disappointment, blowing out a sigh as she scooted carefully away from him, leaving a lapse of six feet between them. Kagome watched Inuyasha carefully, wondering what he would do now that she had moved. Hopefully he would have been happier... _He didn't tell me to watch where I was cuddling... He probably didn't want to be touched by me_, she thought.

Kagome's confused and slightly saddened thoughts were washed away when a flicker of confusion washed over the hanyou's scarred face and flitted through his tawny eyes. The lord of the castle sat up, his intense gaze focused on her as he leaned back on his elbows, regarding her with a bit of discontent.

"What is it, Inuyasha-sama?" The young woman asked, propping herself up on her pillows while she minded her tender shoulder. "You seem... upset..." Kagome worried her lower lip between her teeth as she watched him stand up and kindle the fire, his movements stiff and anxious. "Inuyasha-sama- -"she started before the hanyou turned to look at her, the glow of the fire reflecting off of his amber orbs.

No words flowed from his mouth for a moment as he stood, rooted to his spot. He averted his eyes from her prone form in a lapse of time before he sighed, his posture sagging a bit. "You... You didn't have to move, y'know," he told her in an unsure whisper.

Kagome blinked at this, her dark brows elevating slightly in disbelief. She had been caught off of her guard by his uncharacteristically kind remark and found her jaw hanging in response to it. She snapped her mouth shut as she cleared her throat, finding the temperature in the room a bit warmer due to the blush that was spreading across her cheeks. "I... Didn't?" she answered him, doubt lingering in her soft voice.

Inuyasha looked up to meet the young woman's gaze, seeing her shocked and stunned visage by the light of the fire. She looked truly lovely, not that he would have admitted this out loud, of course...

Thinking an invective in his mind, he found that his mouth had gone dry but he willed it to become moist again, wanting to answer her timid query with confidence. To his own dismay, his salivary glands must have been occupied at the moment he wanted to say something to her. Instead of using words, he nodded his head, meeting her deep, beautiful chocolate eyes that reflected the firelight.

"Oh..." Kagome whispered, her voice sounding like sweet music to the hanyou's soft, fluffy ears that were twitching inconspicuously atop his head of flowing silver hair. "Well... I'd like to cuddle again, Inuyasha-sama," she added, a shy smile appearing on her full lips as she patted the floor next to her as a silent invitation to come to her side. The Lord of the castle gulped and felt his forehead and hands grow clammy from his nerves but he shoved his unease away. He would not let any more chances to get closer to this young woman slip through his fingers.

Inuyasha slid himself across the floor to where the pretty young woman was sitting and came within reach of her. When he had decreased the space between them, Kagome laid her head on his chest gently, minding her wounded shoulder. She let out a sigh and relaxed completely against his searing warmth and closed her eyes, her lashes casting shadows upon her rosy cheeks.

_Kami-sama! She's up against me!_ The hanyou thought in excitement and horror. What if she didn't find him comfortable? What if her shoulder was in jeopardy of getting hurt? What if- -

Another sigh escaped from the angelic creature that was lying against his body, savoring his warmth. "Inuyasha-sama," she yawned, snuggling up to him a bit more. "I'd like to do this more often," she finished, her voice weary as her breathing became even and regular as if in sleep. Inuyasha gazed down at her and realized, that she was, in fact, asleep.

_She's so soft..._ The Lord of the castle had been with many women before. He had touched them, made love to them, even hurt them a bit in animalistic actions; he had felt satiated but he had never _ever_ felt this way before. He reveled in her touch and her acceptance, something that he had never received from the other women. He sighed in spite of himself and lifted his arm, pulling Kagome closer to his body, breathing in her sweet, soothing fragrance.

_I'd like to do this more often also_, Inuyasha thought, his claws sifting through her raven hair; the strands parting and feeling like silk to his touch.

A woman, middle aged and worried; stood atop a hill on the outskirts of her village, pulling the cloak she was wearing closer to her body. Dark eyes darted around the surrounding landscape that contained forest and lake, scouring for any sign that might clue her into the object of her anxiety.

_Where is Kagome?_ She asked herself, a frown marring her features as noises of frustration passed her lips. _She was supposed to have been here days ago!_

Growling to herself, the woman descended from her perch on the hill and began to walk towards her village again, pondering what could have happened to her daughter during the time that had passed. It had been two weeks since the set date that Kagome had been told to begin the journey to come to the village and she _clearly_ had been led astray from the route she was to have taken.

Kagome's mother approached an old fence whose paint was chipping away with the advance of time where there was a young man waiting for her. She looked up to see that it was Hojo, the son of the village leader. His navy eyes followed her expectantly as she walked through the opening of the gate, hardly paying him any mind save for the small 'Good Morning, Hojo-san' she sent him with stiff politeness.

"Higurashi-san, has there been any word about Kagome-san?" The handsome young man asked earnestly, some of his dark hair shading one of his pure, dark blue eyes. He felt a slight blush rise to his cheeks as he thought about the fair, young Kagome.

_Her slender, petite little body..._

_Her lips the shape and color of tender rosebuds..._

_The voice that emitted from her throat that was as sweet and as slick as honey..._

_Her dark, fiery, passionate eyes..._

She was, without doubt, the most beautiful girl in the village, and though Hojo had kept to himself about the manner of courting her, he was determined to make her his bride. He wanted to keep her lovely youth and innocence to himself and wished to have her bear his children.

The young man was brought out of his desirous and thoughts of passion when Lady Higurashi started to speak to him. "No, I am afraid not, Hojo-san. I am very sorry," the middle aged woman bowed. Hojo returned the honored gesture but made sure to bow just a bit lower than the mother of Kagome, just to show how dedicated he was. Kagome's mother stood upright again, looking up into the face of youth standing before her and answered politely, "If she returns then I will inform you."

"That would be very much appreciated. Good day, Higurashi-san," Hojo replied, bowing slightly again before he saw himself out the gate and down the dirt path of their village. He kicked a nearby stone. What was taking her so long?

The young man swallowed and ran a hand through his hair. Yes, it was true that he had not seen the girl- now young woman, for many years but he was sure that she had grown even more beautiful that she had been at their last meeting. _Such a supple, sweet body_, he thought, thinking of her maturing curves and the small round of her backside. He gasped, his face flushed as he continued to walk on.

_It seems that I have become more of a man in my thinking than I would like..._ Hojo thought, swallowing deeply as he made his way back to his hut.

Sango worried her lip between her teeth as she scratched mercilessly at her shoulders and lower back to stop the savage itch that threatened to consume her body. "AH!" she cried out, her scratching not effective at all. _Inuyasha's brought fleas again!_ She thought angrily, leaping to her feet. She stomped over to her wardrobe where she drew a fresh kimono out started to travel down the stairs, irritated and itchy.

"There is nothing a good bath can't cure," she mumbled, pushing a disheveled lock of dark hair out of her eyes as she marched to the bathhouse, brushing the door open. She carelessly dropped her clean kimono and the one that she was wearing before she realized that there was someone else who had been occupying the hot spring.

"Sango?" she heard a rich, but flabbergasted voice stutter from behind her. She gasped in horror, turning slightly to see Miroku, hidden through the foam and the steam caused by the steaming water. Her hands rose to all of the sensitive and private areas on her body as she tried to flee into hiding but the young man began to wade out her way.

"I... I'm so s-sorry!" she stuttered, her tongue-tied and her face purple from terror and embarrassment. She swallowed, letting her hair down from its mussed ponytail to help and hide her creamy flesh from the young man's probing gaze but it was too late.

"You can't run away now," Miroku called to her as she tried to leave. "I haven't slapped you and called you a lecher yet," he finished, a tint of humor in his voice. Sango smothered a soft, ironic laugh and turned to look at him and was surprised to find him not staring at her exposed, feminine body. The young man cleared his throat, his eyes still not on her. "While you're here, why don't you just come in? I cannot see anything. I don't even see myself in this murky water," he finished, reaching out her in general direction.

Sango debated this in her mind. At the current moment, 2 and 2 were coming together to make 55! _Miroku is not staring at me... And he is respecting my body?_ She gulped, knowing that she would be delving into uncharted waters if she joined him... Her heart thundered in her chest and the noise beating through her ears as a sheet of sweat broke out on her forehead, caused by her indecision.

In all the years that they had been together, Miroku had never showed her such respect and lifted himself up with dignity. _He's... He's really trying to respect my feelings and give me my space... He's... **appreciating** me!_ The young woman realized, making a decision. If delving into unknown waters meant loving and being with a loyal Miroku, then Sango was willing to take that chance.

Reaching out tentatively, her mind made up, Sango reached out and took his firm, warm hand and was helped into the spring where she hissed at the boiling temperature of the liquid. Miroku chuckled and dove under, coming up again, whipping his hair about his face. The young woman bit her lip and felt a surge of lust rise in her chest as she observed the water droplets sliding down his lean body and back into the spring. Her cheeks flushed from embarrassment at her gaze that had been strewn, from the heat of the water and from something else that she could not define. She moved closer to the young man, waiting for him to seize her body or to try something else.

Miroku gulped against the awakening feelings in his loins as the far away distance of a naked Sango was being decreased as she waded towards him, her eyes slightly hazy. He could just barely make out the ample curves of her chests in the shadow of the water but realized that the two folds of fat were not such important things. His violet eyes drifted up her slender neck to her attractive face. Two luminous, almond-shaped dark eyes pined him with a desire that he had never seen before. Her stubborn lips were parted slightly as she became short of breath.

Then, she slid her arms around his neck, brushing her soft, unclothed body against him, earning a groan from the young man who was fighting his instincts to touch her and take advantage of her. Slowly, Sango slid her lips across Miroku's before drawing back to look into his confused purple eyes.

"Sango? I don't understand... I thought-"He began but was cut off when the young woman nipped at his neck teasingly. "I thought you didn't want to do this," he moaned as she raked her fingers through his thick, damp hair.

Sango sighed, placing two hands on each side of Miroku's strong face, taking a deep breath before she began to explain herself. "Miroku... I love you. You know this. And... You say you love me too," she started before trailing off in indecision once more. She peered more closely into the young man's face, finding violet eyes fixed strictly on her, waiting for her to continue.

"And?" Miroku questioned her, his voice curious as he continued to keep his eyes elevated and on her face. What else was she going to say? The handsome young man was waiting for an insult, damnation, or a condescending smile that she would flash him, as she would tear away from his aroused male body.

"And," Sango whispered, letting out a contented sigh. A soft, pleasing smile graced her lips. "I believe you," she added, meeting his lips in a deep, passionate kiss as the intensity of their desires increased.

The large eyes of a small kitsune child blinked open as he rolled about on the large bed that was Kagome's. He sighed and sat up, scratching his head, wondering why it was so quiet about the large castle. _Have I been left alone?_ He thought to himself, panic weaving its way through his small chest and entwining about his little rib cage as he leapt from the bed and descended the stairs.

There was a quiet, peaceful breathing coming from the study and two familiar scents were intertwined with each other. Shippo approached the double doors to the library and peered through the crack between them, observing Kagome and Inuyasha cuddling in front of a dying fire. _Even though he is scary... I think that Kagome-kasan and Inuyasha-sama should be friends,_ the youkai boy thought, unaware of the growing relationship between the pair.

Instinct jabbed at his insides. He wanted to enter the study. He felt as though he would be ruining and interrupting something, therefore deciding that he would occupy himself in other ways. Sighing a bit in boredom and loneliness, the kitsune romped about the castle, vanishing down the dark hallways for lack of anything else to do.

"Sango..." Miroku cooed into the exhausted young woman's ear as they lay together on the floor outside the hot spring. He nipped at her earlobe gently and kissed a trail of chaste kisses down her soft, lovely throat as she roused a bit, her hands sliding along the planes of his back.

"That was wonderful," Sango told him sincerely, her body a bit sore from their earlier, passionate activities. She had succumbed and given Miroku her body... and he had given her his in return.

The young man's violet eyes clouded briefly for a moment as he gazed down at the beautiful woman beneath his body and could not help but claim her lips in a meaningful kiss. He groaned and pulled away from her sweet mouth, his hand passing through her mussed ebony hair. "I love you," he told her, his face holding no lie.

Sango sighed and brought his head down, meeting his mouth in the middle, her lips possessing his entire being. He was sincere... And she was reveling in it. She also, found herself making love to him again the very same evening, not wanting to break the peaceful atmosphere of their emotions.

"Kagome," Inuyasha whispered, nudging her gently. The young woman in his arms shifted a bit, a yawn escaping her mouth. The hanyou did a half-smile when he heard her jaw crack from the force of her yawn and pulled away from her slightly to look down into her fair face.

"Yes, Inuyasha-sama?" Kagome asked him, looking into his scarred face expectantly. He merely kept a small smile upon his face and the young woman in his embrace returned it, her cheeks growing warm.

"I... um... I want to show you something," He told her, standing before he offered her a hand to help her to her feet. Kagome accepted this invitation and stood, gripping his hand warmly, not wanting to release it for some strange reason. The hanyou led her out of the corridor, some feeling peace of mind as he focused on her breathing and the shuffling of her petite feet across the carpeted floor.

Kagome kept silent as she observed the different parts of the castle in mute awe. She had been warned by Sango-chan the night that she had been brought to this place never to travel down the hallways alone for fear that the Lord of the castle would be angered. But... here he was, holding her hand gently, leading her down the corridors that were sacred and private to him...

Inuyasha came to a halt in front of a mahogany door and his amber gaze became focused on Kagome as he pulled her to his side a bit more. "Do you want to see my chamber?" he asked her softly, his voice a bit nervous.

"Why, of course I would, Inuyasha-sama," she replied cheerfully, smiling in acquiescence to his question. The hanyou let out a low, amused chuckle; something that was a rarity Kagome hardly ever had the pleasure of witnessing since she had arrived at this cursed place. An amber gaze pined her, intense but kind fire behind his glowing, spiritual orbs.

"Inuyasha," he told her, his voice slightly kind and lively. Kagome blinked and observed him in confusion. She ###### her head to the side, staring at him in bewilderment as she waited for him to explain himself. "You don't have to use the formality, y'know," he added bashfully, his voice growing very quiet. "You can just say my name, Kagome."

Kagome's face came to life and the gentle dubbing sound of her heart began to pound at an increased pace in her ears. She swallowed in an attempt to calm herself and mask the shock at his kind and friendly words but she just couldn't. Inuyasha smirked at her, his large fingers gently probing over her small, soft, delicate ones.

"Um... T-thank you," she stuttered, her chocolate eyes meeting his amber ones. "I appreciate it Inuyasha," she finished, the –sama suffix absent from the Lord of the castle's last name and Kagome believe it felt better to say it that way.

"Come on," he encouraged slightly, his voice a bit more energetic as he turned the knob that held a safe haven to his chamber and opened it. Kagome was overwhelmed with the pitch-blackness of the room and felt herself being led right into the thick of it. She had never liked the dark and she experienced a shred of panic when the warm hand that had been leading her through the eerie chamber disappeared.

"I-Inuyasha?" she called, hearing the shuffling of papers and the sliding of his feet across the carpeted floor. He was still in the room, she was sure of this much, and after a few moments, her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the chamber. She saw his figure moving around and her eyes were greeted with the light from a few candles.

The young woman looked about herself in the large, spacious room that belonged to the hanyou Lord and was amazed by what she could see. Pictures, long and elaborate were hanging on the wall. Some paintings were left in their regal magnificent glory, but there were some that had been slashed through the middle. She approached one particular painting of a tall man who bore a similarity to Inuyasha... but there was just something so different about him. There were large claw marks through the middle of the painting, which were not helping the matter either but Kagome came closer, her brow scrunching as she tried to piece the image together. Just who _was_ that individual?

"Inuyasha?" The young woman asked, peering even closer at the work of art for a better view. "Who is this?"

Inuyasha's mouth turned down with a vicious snarl but he bit it back before it could spill from his lips. "That, is my bastard half-brother, Sesshomaru," he spat harshly, whirling so he would not have to stare into the painted face of one of his betrayers. Kagome heard the tension and anger in his voice and decided to keep her peace about any questions that she might have wanted to ask and continued to glance at the picture. _Sesshomaru... His half-brother..._ It made sense. She remembered what Miroku had told her in the study and remembered who he was. They were so alike... yet... so different.

Sesshomaru had eyes of gold that looked as cold as stone. Though Inuyasha's amber eyes had looked cold from time to time, they had also been very mellow at times as well. Elegant magenta stripes adorned the Lord Sesshomaru's cheeks while Inuyasha's had none. Kagome pushed a strand of raven hair behind her ear as she turned to see the hanyou pacing the length of the room, muttering frustrated invectives.

"I'm sorry I asked about him," Kagome apologized, bowing to him slightly. The hanyou's freakishly irritated pacing ceased for a moment, as he looked her over. "It must bring up painful memories," she added, her eyes going upward to see him turned the other direction again.

"They are not so painful... They're just angering," replied Inuyasha, his voice stony and husky as he let out a dragging sigh. "The memories just make me remember what a monster I am and why they cursed me," he bit out, closing his eyes to try and calm his raging emotions.

Kagome chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully, seeing his stress and anxiety, and reached forward, grabbing his arm. "Let's not talk about it anymore. Um... Let's go out and play in the snow!" She suggested, trying to pull him towards the exit to the chamber.

"Play in the snow? But-"He trailed off, his voice unsure and nervous as he shifted uncomfortably in her grip. "What about your shoulder?"

"It will be ok, as long as we don't rough house," Kagome told him surely and started to drag him along without him protesting. Inuyasha sighed and smiled to himself inwardly. _At least she's trying to better my mood_, he thought as he helped Kagome into her cloak and other warm clothing.

_Ending Author's Corner:_

Woo! Sorry, that wasn't such a long chapter... And most of it was just filling in information. To those of you who think that Miroku and Sango are going too fast, I believe you're right, but that just means there are going to be some kinks and personality flaws that will have to be dealt with in the future, right? So don't freak and out and stop reading!

Also, I've started to move Inuyasha and Kagome along a little bit as well. Do you all like? Poor little Shippo... He must be so bored.

Ah yes! Another quick note!

This story is going to take a few unexpected turns. Be prepared to see some characters in this story that you thought would not be in here! Lol... That just leaves you in suspense, doesn't it?

Well, sorry again about the late updates! AAAAAAAA! I'm apologizing way too much! I'M SORRY! Crap! I did it again! Maybe I should just stop talking... maybe that would work? No... Probably not...

Well, anyway, here's my schedule for the next month:

**_October 16, 2004: PSAT tests in the morning and then Band Competition (We perform at 5:00 PM)_**

**_October 19-22, 2004: Practice_**

_**October 23, 2004: States Competition for Marching Band**_

_**November 11, 2004: Volleyball tryouts? I think...**_

Well, that's my schedule. As you can see, I'm EXTREMELY busy trying to juggle everything. The good thing is though, that right now in Advance Placement Biology I have a 90! YAY!

Until next chapter, I say PEACE OUT!

Luv,

RayJay


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